Defense Against You
by PhoenixRae
Summary: Ch30 UP COMPLETE!Ginny needs some form of defense against her growing attraction to her new DADA teacher. Draco needs to get his head examined when he finds himself falling for one of his students. R&R TOO PLS!
1. What Are You Doing Here?

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!!

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** I'm fresh-off the success of _Mission: Capture the Heart of the Resident Bad Boy_ and thanks to all the wonderful reviews I got for my first _completed_ Draco/Ginny fic, I am inspired to write another fic about them. I hope you all enjoy this new fic I am starting the way you did the afore mentioned fanfic.

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**I. What Are You Doing Here?**

Ginny gave her parents, Molly and Arthur Weasley, one final hug before boarding the bright red steam engine train with the words Hogwarts Express painted on the front. This was her seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (and she was also the final Weasley offspring attending the prestigious school of magic). She was so excited, she couldn't wait to find an empty compartment and wait for Hermione Granger (who graduated at the top of _all_ of her classes the year before and was now Hogwarts new Arithmancy {**a/n:**_ please, I am so confused with the spelling of this class so if any of you would be kind enough as to correct it & let me know the proper spelling I will greatly appreciate it! (",)_}teacher) to come and join her.

She was flying to the moon when she found out one of her closest female friends was accepted as a replacement teacher for one of the subjects she wasn't doing well on. She had to admit, she was amazed at how she even passed her previous Arithmancy classes over the years without actually having a proper understanding of what it was about. Hermione did her best to tutor her, but once she was in class everything Hermione taught her came flying out the window. This year Ginny had this gut-feeling it will be different. Hermione would be her teacher and she liked Hermione's teaching style. She would be more in-tuned with her students, considering she was just a year older than all of them! It would be such a blast and she couldn't wait for it to begin.

Ginny found an empty compartment near the front of the train. She made herself comfortable and pulled out a book to read. It was a Muggle romance novel that Hermione got her hooked on over the summer, when she kept on complaining about being bored. Midway through her peaceful reading the compartment door slid open. She set the book facedown on the seat beside her and smiled up at Hermione.

Only it wasn't Hermione who stood at the doorway.

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Draco Malfoy stood at the last compartment on the first carriage, cursing under his breath at having such luck in finding a nearly empty compartment. He wouldn't have minded sharing a compartment with any student on board this train--but to share a compartment with a _Weasley_ for the rest of the trip to Hogwarts? The Fates must be playing some nasty tricks on him!

_And I thought my days of running into a Weasley were over when I graduated last year,_ he thought miserably to himself as he crossed the threshold and made himself comfortable on the seat opposite the youngest--and thankfully the _last--_Weasley offspring on board the Hogwarts Express.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny Weasley demanded heatedly as soon as he made himself comfortable opposite her.

"What do you think, Weasel?" he smirked, raising an eyebrow and looking right into her deep, dark, chocolate brown eyes.

Ginny raised an eyebrow at him too, crossing her arms firmly over her chest. "You already graduated _last year._" she pointed out to him, "_What_ could you ever possibly be doing on board the train back to Hogwarts _this year?_" she questioned.

"Hmm...why else do you think a former Hogwarts student would be boarding the train back there?"

_Why indeed?_ Ginny thought for a moment, ticking off possible reasons as to _why_ Draco Malfoy was on the train back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but there wasn't really that much to tick off. He graduated from Hogwarts with top marks like Hermione, Harry, and--to her utter surprise--Ron, so there was no way he had to repeat a year. Unless...

Draco watched the youngest Weasley's face register what could possibly have brought him back to Hogwarts a year after graduating. His trademark sly grin plastered on his pale face, his gray eyes still focused on the petite redhead seated across from him.

Ginny raised a pair of shocked brown eyes and locked gazes with Draco's cool gray ones. She didn't have to ask him verbally, the answer was written all over his damn face!

"_Please_ tell me you're not teaching at Hogwarts this year." she begged, but she already knew it was pointless to do so.

"_What?!_" Hermione Granger's voice exclaimed from the open doorway of the compartment, her brown eyes as wide as saucers as she looked back between her friend seated on one side of the compartment to her friend's unwanted companion. She stepped inside and closed the door after her. Addressing Draco she asked, "_You're_ teaching at Hogwarts too?"

Draco looked startled to see bushy-haired Mudblood (although she wasn't bushy-haired anymore. She managed to tame her hair over the summer and now it was just an abundance of healthy looking curls) on the train.

"_You're_ a teacher there too?" he asked in mocked disbelief, his gray eyes became as wide as hers. _Hell!_ The Fates were indeed plotting against him! He thought his days of associating himself with the likes of lowlifes like the Weasleys and Muggle-borns like Granger was over, but right now he felt like he never really left that life of his behind when he graduated last year.

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to be continued...

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** well folks, here it is. what do you think of the first chapter so far? this is going to be a working progress for me. the ideas are already formed in my head, it's just a matter of _how_ I'm going to translate those ideas into words that is the problem. as always, read, review & tell me if this is worth continuing or worth torching to cinders! :::winks::: and before I forget, I would like to thank my beta, _**Blu Misterie**_. you rock, girl! and I'll check out your fic soon now that you updated! hehehehe


	2. Just My Luck

** Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!!

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** Thank you so much to my first 7 reviewers for this fic! Let me tell you now, I am so inspired soon after finishing _Mission_ that I can't wait to get started on writing another D/G fic. After an almost 24 hours of deliberation, I finally came up with an idea and _this_ new fic was the result! And _**Blu Misterie**_, my beta, thanks for taking the time read and edit my story. 

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**II. Just My Luck**

The first day of regular classes for Ginny went by smoothly--the first part anyway. It went downhill right after lunch. She had Transfiguration first class with McGonagall, then Charms with Flitwick, right after charms came Arithmancy with Hermione (she enjoyed _that_ class for the first time in seven years since she started at Hogwarts!) then History of Magic with the ever so boring Binns (honestly, will that old ghost ever resign?) before lunch break. After lunch she was off to double Potions with Snape (one of her least favourite subjects--not to mention one of her least favourite professors), as usual Snape was back to picking on each Gryffindor student and favouring his Slytherin students. After leaving Snape's class, she thought that was the only glitch in her somewhat good first day.

But she spoke too soon.

Her next class was Defense Against the Dark Arts and she couldn't wait to meet the new teacher. From what she heard so far, the new teacher was yet another guy (she missed out catching a glimpse of him last night when the new teachers---there were four that retired last year, so four were introduced this year to replace them---were being introduced because she was too busy catching up with her best friend). Though, unlike their previous teachers, this one was more closer to their age _and_ he sure knows how to stir up some fun in his class--not to mention stir up the hearts of his female students. Well...at least that was what she was told by those people who has had him for a teacher earlier in the day.

With glowing praises like that Ginny couldn't wait to meet him and sit in his class.

_Maybe this class will make up for my first crappy class with Snape,_ she thought to herself as she entered her Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She took a seat at the very back of the room nearest to the door because she wanted to be the first one out of the room after class. 

Ginny got comfortable in her seat while watching the classroom fill-up with other students. She noticed a couple more Gryffindor seventh years come in shortly after her and took a seat at the front of the class. But the next set of students that came in made Ginny squirm. To her dismay she had Defense Against the Dark Arts with Slytherin--_again_--this year. She doesn't particularly enjoy joint classes with them; they are a loud, boisterous, obnoxious bunch that often picked on her friends. They could try picking on her, but they wouldn't dare unless they wanted to answer to Derek--their fellow Slytherin who replaced Draco Malfoy in the hottie department (think Brad Pitt--a Muggle movie actor whom Hermione introduced to her when they watched a movie of his over the summer about a group of men who plotted to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously--when picturing Derek). 

She went out with Derek Boones for a couple of months last year, but he was an incorrigible player and she dumped him on the spot when she caught him playing tonsil hockey with some girl from Ravenclaw. Although their parting wasn't amicable, Derek remained cordial to her and protected her against his sleazy housemates' insults. She was thankful to him for doing that. It helped alleviate some of her problems concerning other students--mostly Slytherins--belittling her and her family. Though, she has this nagging feeling that Derek was doing it on purpose just to get back on her good graces. However, Ginny was no fool. She lived by her motto: _Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me._

Finally all the students filled up the empty seats. They were talking amongst themselves while they waited for their teacher to arrive. Seems like he was running late for his first day of teaching their class. 

"Hey Ginny," Colin Creevey (**a/n:** _is this the correct spelling of his last name?_), a fellow Gryffindor, nudged her arm. 

"Yeah?" she turned her head to address the boy seated beside her. 

"Is it true you shared a compartment yesterday with the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" he asked with genuine interest that was visible on his face. 

"You mean Malfoy?" she almost chocked on her saliva. "Please tell me you're kidding, Colin!" she grabbed her friend's arm, squeezing it tighter and tighter until his left arm started to turn an ugly shade of purple. 

"Why? What's so bad about having me for a teacher, Weasley?" an all too familiar male voice drawled from behind her. 

Ginny froze and she quickly let go of Colin's arm--to his relief. She closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. God, what did she do to deserve an awful afternoon class schedule? Having Potions with Snape was bad enough, did she have to end her afternoon with yet another teacher she doesn't particularly like? She counted one to three before turning to face the boy--who was a boy no longer considering how much he has grown over the summer--who threw insult after insult at Ron, Hermione, and Harry (even to her whenever she was unfortunate enough to be within range of Draco Malfoy's nasty tongue) during their years attending Hogwarts together. 

"Well, well, well Draco Malfoy. Fancy having you for our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Tell me, are you Professor Snape's enemy now, instead of being his golden boy since you obviously took over the class he wanted to take over since probably the beginning of time, hm?" she raised a neatly tweezed eyebrow at him in challenge. 

_So, the youngest Weasley has spunk. Who would've thought?_ instead of taking offense, Draco bared his pearly white teeth at his student and in his most authoritative voice he said loud enough for the whole class to hear, "Twenty-five points from Gryffindor for talking back to a teacher in class." 

A chorus of disgruntled groans echoed around the room whilst a few Slytherin students sniggered. Ginny couldn't believe what she just cost her house to lose. Twenty-five points her cute little arse! Class hasn't even started yet, and he couldn't possibly take points off Gryffindor for what she did--even if she was the one who was wrong--but seriously, Draco Malfoy as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Hell would freeze over _before_ she starts to take him seriously! 

"But class hasn't even started yet!" she protested, "And you asked me a question I was only inclined to respond to, although my response didn't quite answer your query, still, you got the gist of it," she bitched at him. 

"Class starts as soon as my presence is in the room," he informed her--and the rest of his students--before heading to the front of the room. He stopped midway to look back at her over his shoulder, a mischievous gleam visible in his eyes. "And see me after class, _Ms._ Weasley. That little outburst of yours just caused you a detention," he informed her calmly, but the menacing tone he tried to mask didn't go unnoticed to Ginny's ears. 

_What? Detention on my first day back? Damn, did I really do something bad to be punished like this?_ her mind screamed as she gaped after the blond haired Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She was boiling mad at that point and would've voiced out another outburst if Colin hadn't clamped his hand on her arm, giving it a warning squeeze telling her to quit goading Draco. She might get a few more points taken off Gryffindor if she continued answering him back. 

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"_Arrrg!_" Ginny screamed, pulling her hairs out in frustration. "Damn that insufferable git! He's been picking on me all week, I just know it," she paced Hermione's quarters Saturday afternoon when her friend invited her over for some tea. 

"Maybe you're just overreacting, Gin. He can't possibly be picking on you only," she reasoned matter-of-factly. 

"Oh no, Mione. I _know_ he singled me out. Just because we got on the wrong foot to start our first class doesn't automatically give him the license to torment me for the rest of the year!" she complained. 

"You honestly believe that?" her friend questioned after she gave up trying to convince Ginny she was mistaken. 

"Of course!" she exclaimed indignantly. 

"Ginny, you know teachers can't be singling out any students," she pointed out. "They may favor some of their students, but they can't alienate the rest." 

"_Ha!_ Tell that to Malfoy--and Snape too. Seems like those two has a penchant for making _my_ life miserable," she snorted. Ginny stopped pacing now and sat down on the chair opposite from Hermione. She crossed her arms over her chest and sulked. 

She _hates_ Draco Malfoy with a vengeance now more than ever before. 

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**a/n:** well, here's the second chapter. too bad I can't post this until Sunday 'coz ff.net is doing some stuff so I can't upload some chapters. anyway, for those of you who reviewed I thank you for liking my next attempt (this one) at writing another Draco/Ginny fic. as always, read, review & enjoy! 

**karly:** yep, it's against _every_ school rule for teachers and students to have a relationship that isn't really a student-teacher relationship. D/G are aware of this rule and doesn't want to break it...now how they're _not_ going to break this rule will be kinda hard if the attraction is too strong...can't say much right now without having to give away the rest of the story plot, but you get the gist, right? 

**Crystal:** thanks for liking and here's the update--and chapter three will be uploaded real quick since I'll have time to work on it *lol* 

**Polgara:** thanks! and I'm aiming for it to be both funny _and_ hilarious seeing as to how complicated their relationship will be 

**Kitycat87:** I can't wait to see how this one progresses too, but so far so good. I am _not_ running out of ideas yet! *lol* 

**Sharlene:** yes, you _are_ amazing for finding it! *lol* 

**MYSTIQUE:** kewl! let me know when you thought up a plot for the challenge 

**tigereyes320:** thanks for telling me I got the spelling right. like you I have no idea what Arithmancy is about so I really won't be dwelling too much about it *lol* I just have to give Hermione something to teach at when she landed a job at Hogwarts *grins* 

**SeZzA:** I understand, that has been brought to my attention twice. It's just a challenge I posted up for fun, but anyhow, I sure hope you enjoy this story as much as you did _Mission._

**Redmeadow:** yep, this is _definitely_ going to be a Draco/Ginny fic 

**hasapi:** :::laughs::: thanks for the compliment *grins* 

**AmethystQueen:** thanks, hope you enjoy the next installments, hehehehe 

**B-chan and Syaorons angel:** for sure I'll email you update notices when I post new chapters for this fic 


	3. Ginny's Detention

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!!

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** Alrighty, I am more pumped-up to continue on writing this fic. I dunno how often I'll be able to update, but as long as I am inspired and ideas keep on floating about inside my head, expect an update either every two hours or every day! :::laughs:::

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**III. Ginny's Detention**

Two weeks has passed since the beginning of the school year. Draco delayed Ginny's punishment until then. He didn't give her a hint as to what her detention would be, he just told her to meet him in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom Friday night after dinner to serve her detention.

Ginny arrived right on time, all pumped-up and eager to start her detention. She figured the sooner she get this over and done with, the sooner her mood will clear. She hated the idea of having something as bad as serving detention for Draco Malfoy cloud her everyday life!

Seems like Draco was running late--again. Ginny parked herself in her usual seat at the back of the classroom, slouched down a bit, and started tapping her fingernails on the tabletop. She waited patiently for her teacher to arrive, glancing at the open doorway every two minutes for any sign of him.

Half an hour later there was still no sign of Draco Malfoy. She was beginning to get ticked off. There could be tons of other things she could do this evening--homework ranked high on her to do list--instead of wasting away waiting for a teacher with a very twisted sense of humour if he thinks letting her wait on him like this was funny. She decided to give him another ten minutes, but when that ten minutes came and went, Draco still hadn't made an appearance.

"Alright, I already wasted an hour of my time waiting for someone who isn't going to show up. I'm so outta here." she said out loud to no one in particular and stood up. She turned around so fast that she didn't realize she was no longer alone in the room. She ran smack-dab into the person she had been waiting for. Rolled up parchments flew out of Draco's arms when he made a grab for Ginny before she fell backward when she lost her balance after their collision.

"Good God, Weasley! Don't you ever watch where you're going?" he scolded once he has steadied her.

Ginny, who was momentarily in shock after the surprise collision, soon snapped out of her shock after hearing Draco's condescending tone. Her head snapped up, her angry brown eyes glaring at the obnoxious rake who happened to be her teacher.

"I wouldn't have run in to you if you just made your presence known!" she flung at him, "You know, sneaking up on people doesn't always have a positive result." she pointed out matter-of-factly. "How long have you been standing there anyway?"

"Long enough to know that you, Ginny Weasley, doesn't have any patience whatsoever." he replied smugly, releasing his hold on her arms that he didn't realize he was still holding until just then.

Ginny gave out a smirk, backing away from him she rubbed the spot where he held her. It felt strange having his hands wrap around her arms like that. If her memory serves her right, this would've been the first time Draco Malfoy touched a Weasley. And what and odd feeling it was she felt when the warmth eminating from his hands seeped right through the fabric of her school robe.

"Whatever, _Professor,_" she replied, dropping her hands to her side and jutting her chin high, "Now, what is my punishment which took you long enough to give to me?"

Draco smirked back. _The gall of the damning man giving me that all too familiar smirk that often made the ladies at Hogwarts drool over him!_ she thought with great irritation.

"It took me this long to give you your detention, _Ms._ Weasley, because I couldn't possibly ask you to help mark some of my students' work the night of the first day of classes, could I now?" he replied in an all too casual manner.

Ginny rolled her eyes skyward and shook her head. "Whatever." she muttered and remained where she stood, arms now crossed over her chest and her eyes glued to the man who was now crouching down picking up the scattered rolled-up parchments.

Draco noticed he was being watched and lifted his gaze to address his student, "You know a little help would be nice seeing that I have tons of this to mark. If you help me now we can start marking them right away. And the sooner I picked all these up, the sooner you'll be over your detention."

_Arrrg!_ Ginny's mind screamed before she crouched down in front of him and started to pick up each scattered rolled-up parchment.

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Draco kept on sending discreet glances at Ginny, his prisoner for the evening, who parked herself on one of the desks lined up at the front of the class across from his table. She took a stack of fifth year essays he was to mark and took it with her. They only exchanged a couple of words since they started working, and that had been close to two and a half hours ago. They worked well together, he noticed. After giving her instructions on what to look for when grading the essays, she was on her own. He only had to go over to where she sat once or twice to see how well she was doing marking his lower year students' papers. Twice he questioned her about her choice of giving one student only half of the full mark he stipulated for the essay, and she explained to him with her chin jutted high that he lacked the proper information needed to make his essay work to his advantage. She pointed out that the student took one point and wrote about it over and over again, he didn't even bother discussing the other possibilities related to his topic of choice.

"Really, _Professor_," she still had the sneering tone to her voice whenever she addressed him, "I can't believe you'd give this kid full marks for writing about something in circles!" she shook her mop of shiny red hair, a Weasley trademark, and returned her gaze back on the essay she was reading.

He didn't reply back. He got her there. She was right, of course. But he missed out that one obvious fact while reading the essay standing right next to her. Her scent wafted to his nostrils. She smelled of jasmine in full bloom at night. Very intoxicating. And very dangerous too that was why he didn't bother coming anywhere near her after that.

Over the years since she entered Hogwarts in his second year, the youngest Weasley intrigued him. She both intrigued and fascinated him at the same time, not to mentioned annoyed him to hell because he couldn't stop thinking about her. He rarely insulted her during his days as a Hogwarts students mainly because he couldn't find it in him to put her through the same torture he put her brother and her brother's friends through. Until now he couldn't quite decipher what exactly about Ginny Weasley made him _not_ insult her--not too much anyway. He still called her names and treated her family like crap whenever he had the chance to do so back in their school days together.

_And now she is a student of yours. Not to mention she is one of the very few who is very good in the class you're teaching._ a small voice at the back of his head reminded. Yeah, he noticed how very unlike her brother, Ron, she was. No wonder she and that Mudblood Granger became best friends; they're practically alike in their study habits, although Ginny was less of a bookworm than Granger was. For God's sakes she had a boyfriend last year who was stupid enough to cheat on her with a Ravenclaw wench! And from what he could recall he often saw her hanging out with different guys from all four houses. Some were just good friends while others were more than just good friends. Hell, he must've caught her locking lips with quite a few of those guys she was seen hanging out with numerous times to know Ginny Weasley was no prude.

"All done!" she exclaimed, pushing her chair away from the desk she was using noisily and eventually snapped Draco out of his private reverie.

He looked at the redhead doing some arm stretching and neck rotating in front of him. She looked like she was enjoying the feel of muscles stretching after spending how many hours leaning against a table reading countless essays that pretty much talked about the exact same thing. Nevertheless, Draco took this rare opportunity to actually study Ginny. She had a lovely face. Freckled and small, but lovely nevertheless. She also had a long, silky smooth neck that must've been kissed and nibbled at by quite a few guys in all her time here at Hogwarts. He sure would love to have a try at running his lips up and down her throat, nibbling at the spot between her shoulder and neck and losing himself in the arms and mouth of Ginny Weasley. She was a damn good kisser, used lots of tongue, if Derek Boones' claims were to be trusted.

_Whoa! Whoa! Whoa there, Draco Xavier Malfoy! Since when in tarnation did you start fantasizing about kissing a Weasley?_ his shocked mind demanded from him. Even he was shocked to catch himself thinking of doing that to Ginny! Shaking the thought out of his head, he addressed his student, acquiring a nasal-toned voice he took after Snape.

"Are you sure you gave them fair marks?" he questioned.

Ginny stared at him in disbelief. She just spent three hours hunched over a desk, reading stupid essays from students who thinks they could get away easily by writing about nothing worth reading about, and Draco had the gall to question her of her fairness in marking his students' essays!

"Define _fair._" she challenged, crossing her arms over her chest and regarded him with a level look.

Draco straightened in his seat, arms crossed over his chest as well. He regarded her with critical gray eyes swooping up and down her petite form.

"Considering that some of my students have a penchant for writing in circles in their essays, I am just merely concerned at how good your judgment is when it comes to marking said students' papers."

Ginny raised an eyebrow, "Oh fear not, _Professor_ Malfoy, you have about a couple of good students who wrote splendid essays. But I must warn you, the rest of your sixth year students? They gotta start exploring _more_ subjects to talk about." she pushed herself off her seat and put the parchments in a neat pile on one side of the table. She put the chair back and gathered the parchments she marked, placing them on Draco's desk before stepping back and asked, "Am I dismissed now or are you still planning on keeping me here until the wee hours of the morning?"

_I would if I could, Weasley, but alas, I must let you go once you have finished marking the pile I gave you._ he thought to himself and without saying anything he nodded her dismissal.

Ginny tore outta there like a bat out of hell. She couldn't wait to go back to her dorm, take a nice, long bath to relax her aching muscles. She was dreaming about the scented candles she would light up as she dip into the bathtub filled with warm water and mixed with bath oil, rose scented to be precise. Oh goodness! She could almost picture it in her head and feel her entire body tingle with delight as she pictured herself already soaking in the warmth of the water.

"Hey there, sweet thing."

At the sound of his voice Ginny stopped and quickly pivoted to face the owner of the voice who was lounging in the shadows. How long he has been standing there hiding from Filch and Mrs. Norris she wouldn't know, but him suddenly speaking from out of nowhere sure made Ginny's heart skip a beat from fright. Her hand quickly snaked up to wrap around her throat while the other covered her mouth to stifle a scream.

"Derek Andrew Boones, what in the world are you doing hiding there?" she demanded once she was over her initial shock.

A tall figure materialized from the shadows, revealing a mop of wavy brownish-blond hair and striking pair of electric blue eyes. He towered over Ginny by a good many inches, making her end up standing at eye-level with his broad chest.

"Waiting for you, what else would I be doing here, hm?" he replied nonchalantly.

Ginny cocked her head to the side, an eyebrow raised as she gave her ex-boyfriend a slow appraisal. He wasn't wearing his school robes anymore, but to camouflage himself he wore an all black get-up, from the long-sleeved ribbed turtleneck that Ginny was sure to be expensive (Derek never wore non-brand name clothing), he matched it with black jeans and nicely polished black combat boots.

"And _why_ are you waiting for me, Derek? I know perfectly well my way back to my dormitory."

"I know. But I thought a little escorting won't be too bad." he shrugged.

"Uh-huh." she didn't believe him. Hell, after what she caught him doing last year hell would freeze over first before she believed him again. She resumed walking, headed towards the direction of the stairs, but she didn't get the chance to take more than three strides before she was halted by a hand snaking around her wrist. Ginny's brown eyes traveled down to where Derek held her before lifting her gaze up once more, an eyebrow arched.

"What do you--" the rest of her words were cut off when Derek's mouth covered hers in a kiss that was meant to be sweet and passionate, but all Ginny felt was revolt and anger. She tried pushing away, but Derek was bigger _and_ stronger than her, he quickly got in her in a hug-lock, giving her no room to protest or push him away.

Ginny was struggling albeit unsuccessfully to be free off Derek's embrace and kiss, but he only managed to lock his arms even tighter around her and his tongue was prodding her lips to part. And this was the scene Draco walked out on when he left his classroom as soon as he dismissed Ginny for the night.

"Ms. Weasley! Mr. Boones!" Draco's authoritative voice boomed over the empty corridor, sending both students springing apart.

"_Professor!_" Ginny exclaimed breathlessly, turning a pair of wide as saucers brown eyes at the glaring blond haired professor.

Draco was indeed glaring, both at her and at Derek who looked all smug and nonchalant. He nearly snarled at the audacity of the boy to think he was invincible. _Well, we'll see about that._ he thought as he took two steps to stand between the two students he caught cavorting in the dark outside his classroom. He first turned to Ginny, watching the petite redhead cower away from him.

"I dismissed you under the pretext that _you_ will return straight to your dormitory--_not_ to go traipsing in the dark with your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Ginny denied, "Not anymore anyway. And besides, _he_ accosted me on my way back to my dormitory." she explained, but her explanation fell into deaf ears.

Draco turned his gaze to his former housemate. He was looking very smug thinking he wouldn't get into trouble just because he was a Slytherin and they happen to be former housemates during his days as a Hogwarts student.

"I can't say I'm not surprised, Mr. Boones. After the very public break up you and Ms. Weasley had the year before I expected you to be over her already. Nevertheless you are out of your dorm in the dead of the night. Fifty points from Slytherin and see me tomorrow after breakfast for your detention duties." Draco hid his satisfied grin when Derek looked like all his blood was just drained from him. Looks like he hasn't suffered a much worse fate before; points haven't been taken off under _his_ expense and apparently he hasn't served detention yet in all his years at Hogwarts.

Ginny, however, couldn't hide her grin as she gloated at Derek for landing himself into trouble. But she rejoiced too soon. Draco wasn't finished with her yet. He turned his attention back to her and with a smirk added, "You too, Ms. Weasley. See me tomorrow morning for your detention duties."

"_What?!_" she exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor then to her ex-boyfriend who was still reeling from shock after getting detention _and_ points taken off Slytherin because of him.

She looked like she was going to argue. Draco anticipated this. In the weeks since he started teaching at Hogwarts and had _her_ for a student he has learned one or two things about the feisty youngest Weasley. She doesn't go down without a fight.

"Don't bother arguing, Ms. Weasley. Just be glad you're only serving detention and not have points taken off Gryffindor because of your behaviour." he lifted his index finger and waved it in front of her, warning her to keep her mouth clamped tightly and just do what he told her to do.

_Oh crud!_ she thought miserably, sending an angry glare at Derek's direction before she left the corridor and headed for the stairs back to her dormitory.

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**A/N:** oh, Malfoy strikes again! *lol* and what the hell is Derek Boones doing snogging with Ginny? a love-triangle a-brewing here, you think? hmm...well, stick around and find out what happens next!

**GinnyYvette:** I am kinda fond of that Leann Rimes motto myself, hence why I used it here *winks*

**kellyanne:** thanks, hope you enjoy this chapter

**Pebble of Insanity:** you guys will sure read about some Draco PoV here...I tend to write using both lead character's PoV to explain/convey their feelings

**Jade Stellar:** oh their so-called attraction will drive them nuts! they wanna snog, but they can't really coz they'll be caught and...oh, i'll try and make it fun for this two *lol*

**xing@fanfiction.net:** I got a few reviews with this listed as the reviewer's name, thanks for liking the fic so far. I dunno if they're from the same person or not, but nevertheless I do enjoy your input

**SeZzA:** *lol* if I had Draco for a teacher back in high school I doubt I'll pay attention to his class! I'll pay more attention to the teacher himself than the lesson he was talking about! and I'll eventually find a loophole for their romance somewhere in the middle of all the hoopla! *lol*

**momma-dar:** thanks for saying its definitely different

**baby-grassie:** *lol* well I believe Derek made an appearance in _this_ chapter and is bound to stir some sort of "jealousy" factor for Draco--driving him nuts or something *winks*

**Laina:** nope, Susan and Derek aren't distantly related! *lol* I just couldn't think of a last name to give Derek so I decided to give him "Boones" after that...ooh, Daniel Boone dude from the pioneer days or something

**Angel-Hiragizawa32:** thank you! and I'll try and update as often as I can

**Shinnonu:** that's one trait I'm trying to break! *lol* sometimes I catch myself going from past to present tense and sometimes I just write away without bothering to check it

**MYSTIQUE:** thanks for letting me know. I'll store that information away for future reference

**karly:** well here's the finished chapter! *lol* I think I gave you some hints already (or not) as to how and where this story is heading...and I can't resist on not making Malfoy act the way he did in the previous chapter

**tigereyes320:** oooh, I'm sure it'll be anything _but_ explosive! *lol* who knows, probably he'll give Ginny lots of detention so he could spend so much time with her as much as possible *winks*


	4. It's All Your Fault!

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!!

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** For my last chapter I didn't get my beta to read and edit it because...well, because she was busy swimming and I just wanted to get it uploaded. Anyways, here's the next chapter, hope you guys enjoy it.

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**IV. It's All Your Fault!**

Ginny was out for blood the next day. She wasn't looking forward to going into Draco's classroom to meet with him and hear him sentence her to another detention. _Damn Derek Boones and his horny pants!_ she thought irritably over breakfast. She was in a very dark mood all morning. Colin was even too afraid to sit so close to her for fear of having her bite his head off.

Over at the Slytherin table, Derek wasn't at all in a jolly good mood either. He was fuming at the blond haired young man seated over at the staff table talking to--of all people--Hermione Granger! His former Slytherin hero talking to a lowlife Mudblood! _What a disgrace for a former Slytherin being friends with a Mudblood like Granger,_ he thought savagely as he forked his sausage.

Draco, on the other hand, was having the most interesting conversation with--to his utter surprise--Hermione Granger of all people! Since they were the only two people who were of the same age and attended, graduated, and now teaching at their former alma mater, they have a bit of something in common to talk about. And that _something_ turned out to be chattering away with the happenings in the lives of her two cohorts--namely Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. He wasn't particularly interested in hearing what had become of the Boy Who Lived and the youngest male Weasley offspring, but since he didn't want to indulge in a meaningless conversation with the other new teachers (they were boring as far as he was concerned. All stuffy and way too old fashioned for his taste), he was left with no other choice than to listen to what Hermione was talking about. They never got along back in their school days and they still often get on each other's nerves, but he figured since they were all adults now and teachers to boot, they might as well call a truce to their mutual hatred for each other.

Hermione was chattering away with the latest pranks the famous Weasley twins pulled over the summer to annoy Percy to bits. Draco was only half listening to her ongoing chatter before his eyes rested on the fuming Gryffindor redhead, the last of the famous redheads to attend Hogwarts maybe for a long while. He knew she wasn't too happy about serving another detention with him, and he knew he was being too harsh on her for giving her another detention instead of letting her go without a scratch; it would be unfair to Derek Boones' eyes if he did that.

He had to admit he was taken by surprise when he walked out of his classroom, ready to lock-up after spending three hours in there with Ginny marking essays, then he turned his head when he heard some scuffling and was rooted to the spot when he saw Ginny locked in Derek's arms, her elfin-like face nearly being sucked off by the newest Slytherin 'hottie'. Draco knew he didn't have the right to scold them, after all they _were_ together for a couple of months last year, but as soon as he stepped out of his classroom and saw them snogging his first instinct was to yank the boy from her and punch him senseless! Even now Draco's hand still clenched into a tight fists as he recalled the happenings of the previous evening.

"Seems like a certain redhead has caught your fancy, Malfoy." Hermione wasn't at all oblivious to the fact that the person she was talking to suddenly lost interest in what she was talking about.

Draco quickly snapped out of his sudden reverie and hissed at the dark haired Muggle-born beside him. "Whatever the hell are you talking about, Granger?" he snapped irately.

Hermione chuckled and shook her mop of healthy curly hair, "You're so transparent sometimes, Malfoy, I can't believe I didn't see right through you back in our school days," she teased before returning her attention back to her breakfast. She sliced her sausages into threes, forking one and midway to her mouth she stopped and frowned at the blond seated beside her, "And speaking of Ginny, is what I've heard true, that she's landed yet _another_ detention from you, hm?"

Draco raised an eyebrow and turned his attention from the redhead angrily spearing her breakfast with her fork to the grinning brunette seated beside him with a big, dopey grin plastered on her face. Did he just imagine it or was that a hint of teasing he heard in Granger's voice? Surely she wasn't teasing him to Weasley, was she?

"And what do you care about my giving Ms. Weasley another detention, hm?" he questioned.

"Oh, I don't really give a hoot as to who you give detention to, Professor. As a colleague I just want to warn you though. Ginny wasn't at all pleased with the thought of _another_ detention," Hermione paused and chuckled, her brown eyes roving across the Great Hall to rest on the redhead's fuming face. "In less than a month since the new school year started she managed to get herself into detention twice! I'm sure Fred, George, and Ron would be shocked when they hear about it."

"Why?" Draco was genuinely intrigued. Was there a side to the youngest Weasley offspring that her brothers didn't know about? Surely they must be aware of the little hellion lurking within Ginny Weasley!

"Because it's very un-Ginny-like, that's why," she answered simply.

"Un-Ginny-like?" Draco echoed, somehow he had this gut-feeling none of them knew who the real Ginny was.

"Yeah," Hermione nodded, popping a piece of bacon in her mouth. "Although I know Ginny isn't the little innocent her brothers thought she is. Not anymore anyway."

So Granger knew the youngest Weasley has grown up. And to be honest, he quite like the person she has become. Full of spunk and spirit; nobody would get her spirits down easily.

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Ginny waited patiently in the Defense Against the Dark Arts room right after breakfast to hear her sentence from the teacher she was _really_ disliking now with a passion. She was starting to hate Malfoy more than Snape which came as a surprise to her. Nobody could be as terrible of a teacher as Snape, but then Malfoy showed up and made Snape look like a harmless tabby cat. Of course she couldn't really blame him when he caught her locking lips with Derek outside his classroom--Derek should've been more discreet, not that she wanted to lock lips with him ever again!--but for Draco to give her detention again? Couldn't he have just taken points off Gryffindor instead?

"So I see you're too eager to hear about your detention. Where's your partner in crime?"

Ginny jumped in her seat at the sound of Draco Malfoy's voice. She looked over her shoulder and shot him a piercing glare.

"I didn't commit _any_ crime," she insisted.

Draco couldn't help from grinning at the fire spewing out of the redhead's eyes. He crossed the space between the door to where she sat at the front of the room. Ginny followed his every movement with her blazing brown eyes pinned at him. He stopped right beside where she sat, bracing one hand on the back of her chair while the other was on the smooth surface of the desk. Ginny backed off a bit, but she couldn't really move since she was trapped by a chair on one side and Draco on the other.

Draco noticed that she suddenly became restless in her seat. Does he unsettle her by his mere nearness? Now that was laughable.

"I think snogging in the hallway after hours when students should've been in bed _is_ a crime, Ms. Weasley," he pointed out to her.

"In case you didn't notice, _I_ wasn't a willing participant last night!"

Draco's eyebrow rose at her denial, "Not from where I was standing. You two looked like you couldn't wait to get a room."

Ginny opened her mouth to protest, to tell him he was mistaken. She wanted to tell him that Derek accosted her in the hallway on her way back to her dormitory, but at the very last minute she closed her mouth. Reasoning with Draco would be like reasoning with a brick wall. He already made up his mind about what he saw and there was no altering it.

"Oh, bugger off, Malfoy!" she sulked in her seat, arms crossed firmly across her chest and pursed her lips.

"What? Couldn't stand the heat, Weasley?" he taunted.

"Oh, I could stand the heat all right. It's just _you_ that I couldn't stand," she replied smugly.

Draco's lips curled up on the corners. She was blunt. She was fiery. And she was a Weasley. Nice combinations. He was starting to like this girl already!

_Whoa, whoa, whoa there, horsey! You're starting to like _this girl, _buddy?_ that annoying voice of conscience of him questioned, _Are you out of your noodles?!_

"Am I interrupting something?" Derek sneered from the doorway. He had been watching his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher's interaction with his former flame for a good five minutes before he made his presence known. It was really interesting what he found out by just simply watching Malfoy and Ginny together. They were both screaming mutual attraction--Malfoy's body language was the more obvious one--and he knew he will have so much fun with it.

Draco straightened from leaning down on Ginny. He caught something mischievous cross the Slytherin boy's face, a nagging voice at the back of his head warned him to watch out for the workings of Derek Boones' devious mind. He knew Derek when he was still a student here at Hogwarts. If people thought Draco Malfoy was bad, then they would be delighted to know that someone topped him in the bad department. At least that was what the students of Hogwarts thought. Little did they know that Derek Boones was nothing but a damn shrinking sissy!

"You're late, Mr. Boones. Your tardiness will cost you ten points." Draco was so enjoying this. The look on Derek's smug, aristocratic face was priceless.

Ginny, whose back was facing the door, hid her grin. No matter how much of a prat Draco Malfoy was, when he takes points off Slytherin, he ranked high on her list she looked up to--except when he was taking points off Gryffindor _and_ giving her detention.

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Derek was sputtering curse after curse under his breath while polishing the floor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Malfoy told him to clean up the entire classroom the Muggle way with no magic involved. Derek didn't mind it at first knowing that Ginny will be helping him, but Malfoy pulled a fast one on him. He made Ginny pull up a desk and chair beside his desk and put a stack of parchment on it for her to mark.

Derek nearly murdered his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for what he did, but before he could devise a plan on how to execute it, Malfoy told him to get a move on or he'd be spending the rest of the day with him. He could see Ginny grinning like the Chesire cat from where she parked herself beside Malfoy's desk. She was enjoying this.

An hour before lunch, Draco excused himself to attend to the ruckus outside his classroom. Some overzealous students--probably _female_ students--were camped outside the classroom, chattering loudly and annoying the hell out of Draco and Ginny. Derek seized this moment to stop what he was doing and walked up to where Ginny sat marking some essays.

"You think this is funny, Ginny, huh? Me doing a hired housekeeper's work--the Muggle way--while _you_ cozy it up with the teacher," he snarled at her.

Ginny lifted her head from the essay she was reading and curled her nose, "_What_ are you bitching about, Derek? Is it _my_ fault we landed in detention after that stupid stunt you pulled last night?"

"Of course it is!" he bellowed, his nose flaring. "If you hadn't been slow in getting away from me, Malfoy wouldn't have caught us!" he accused.

"Blame it on me, why don't ya? It wasn't _me_ who couldn't stop groping!" she was out of her seat and was standing toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose in front of Derek.

"Groping?" he looked stunned for a moment, "I wasn't groping you!" he denied.

"Oh yes, you were!"

"No, I wasn't!"

"Were so."

"Was not."

"Were so."

"You're pushing it, Ginny. I did not, I repeat, I did _not_ grope you last night!"

Ginny was about to make a rebuttal when Draco's voice from the doorway prevented her from doing so. Both their heads whipped to the direction of the door where Draco stood watching them.

"Could you two argue any more louder? I don't think the creatures lurking in the Forbidden Forest heard you," he was lounging lazily against the doorframe, his head cocked to the side as he watched the two seventh years argue like pre-schoolers. "And there better not be any _groping_ going on right now or you'll both be in detention with me again," he pushed himself off of the doorframe and walked to where the two students stood.

"It's all Derek's fault, Professor," Ginny pointed at the tall Slytherin in front of her.

"Mine?" Derek looked appalled, "_You_ were also--"

Draco stopped Derek's tirade before it resulted in another shouting fest between the two of them.

"Can it, you two. Now get back to your work. You both dilly-dallied and wasted valuable time arguing. We'll have to forego lunch until I'm satisfied with both your work."

A chorus of disappointed groans came from his two stubborn students. Derek begrudgingly went back to polishing the floor while Ginny slumped with a soft _thud_ back in her seat. Draco grinned at the look on both students' faces.

"Oh, and Mr. Boones?" Draco called to Derek who was about to go down on all fours on the floor.

Derek lifted his blond head and met his teacher's gaze, "Yeah?"

"Next time you're in detention, could you kindly let your fan club outside know that points will be taken off your house the next time they cause any disruption, hm?"

Derek's blue eyes shot daggers at Draco right at that very moment. He was being an ass and Ginny couldn't stop siding with their teacher. She slouched down in her seat, a parchment pulled up to cover her face as she struggled so hard not to laugh at the bad luck Derek was having.

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**A/N:** well, well, well. another chapter finished! _phew!_ I'm on a roll now! *lol* anyways, thanks for your reviews and like before, read, review, and enjoy!!! oh yeah, before I forget, I almost got stumped with this chapter, but thanks to my beta, _**Blu Misterie**_, she gave me some insights (as well as edited my fic) as to what write or even add to this chapter. and oh yeah, I forgot to give a shout-out of thanks to **_karly_** for helping me do some brainstorming when I got stuck writing the third chapter.

**Tuilindo:** thanks...and I know it's a bit clichéd, but I wanted to take a stab at it my way, my style and the works :::grins:::

**MelissaAdams:** well you're in luck 'coz the next one's coming right out right now! *lol* here it is! :::girns:::

**Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey:** hehehe, well I'm updating as often as I can. and I'm happy that you get inspired to write your D/G fic after reading my fic! good luck with that one

**Rebecca Gryffindor:** thanks for reading my fic, and for sure I'll send up email updates when I post new chappies up for this story

**kellyanne:** yep, it's always fun when they forget about that. and I think Draco picking on Ginny is kinda cute...hehehehe


	5. Quidditch, Anyone?

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** _phew!_ this took me a while to finish 'coz for a moment there i thought i'll be facing another bout with writer's block! good thing i got over it real quick!

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**V. ****Quidditch, Anyone?**

The first month of the new school year was finally over. Ginny got in to quite a few more scraps with Derek--mostly in Draco's class _or_ whenever Draco was around. Ginny had a gut feeling Derek was doing it deliberately for reasons only known to him. She did her best to ignore him and avoid him as much as possible, but he has become some sort of parasite that wouldn't leave.

Ginny escaped quite a few detentions--she couldn't say if Derek did or didn't whenever he pulled some stupid prank on her--, but she couldn't do much when points got docked off Gryffindor because of her--_or_ because Malfoy hated her guts so damn much he'd do anything to see that Gryffindor doesn't win the House Cup this year. She was upset whenever that happened, Malfoy docking points off Gryffindor and mostly it was because of _her_ that he did so, but her mood soon lifted up almost immediately when Draco dock higher points off his former school house team, Slytherin. Needless to say he was soon loathed by Slytherin and the hero of the other three houses, which was weird as far as Ginny was concerned.

How could he be so cruel to his former housemates? Then again, he was Draco Malfoy. Since when wasn't he cruel to anyone? Nevertheless, his lack of favouritism towards Slytherin students made Ginny in awe of him. She couldn't believe she would feel that way about anyone who made fun of her family relentlessly, but she did. It was a weird feeling to have considering he was a mean, spoiled brat during his days as a Hogwarts student.

Ginny also started to notice Draco and Hermione's easy camaraderie, their suddenly blossoming _friendship_, as some might call it. They are often seen talking to each other instead of the usual sneer and slap (that happened like ages ago when Draco pushed his luck and became fast friends with Hermione's hand on his cheek). They were also caught teasing and making fun of each other like they were good old friends of many years! Ginny assumed the reason behind the Muggle-born and the Pureblood's fast growing relationship was due to their position in school--they _must_ keep up friendly fronts for the benefit of the students as well as keep everything harmonious around Hogwarts--, but Hermione and Draco's growing familiarity with each other was starting to get to her.

During mealtimes she would happen to glance at the staff table and catch either Hermione leaning over to Draco whispering something to him which would then make the blond either chuckle or smirk at what she said and vice-versa. They would even get touchy-feely with each other, like Hermione putting her hand on Draco's arm when she spoke to him or Draco patting her hand when he was explaining something or telling her something. It was quite boggling to see that, and for some insane reason, Ginny was starting to _not_ like the _friendly_ gesture transpiring between the two teachers.

"Ginny, I thought Hermione is your friend?" Twyla Isaccs, captain and keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, leaned close to Ginny during breakfast one Saturday morning on the day of the Quidditch tryouts for new team members.

Ginny tore her gaze from the staff table and frowned at her housemate, "Yes, we are. Why'd you ask?"

"Because, Gin, you've been glaring a hole right through her skull for the past five minutes now," she pointed out.

"Nooooo," Ginny shook her head in denial. She wasn't glaring at Hermione...was she? She can't be! Why would she be doing that to Hermione? She didn't have to wait long to hear a possible answer to her query.

"You fancying the new DADA teacher too?" Twyla nudged her teasingly.

"_Whaaaa?_" Ginny's eyes almost bugged out from its sockets.

Twyla grinned mischievously and returned back to eating her breakfast. "Can't say I blame ya for crushing on him," she said after a while. "I mean, even when he was still a student here he has been every female students' eye-candy."

"Well, he was _never_ my eye-candy when he was still a student here nor will I start fancying him now that he's a teacher!" she said indignantly, "He was more like an eye-sore than an eye-candy to me."

Twyla swallowed her chuckle, nearly choking on the bacon strip she was eating. How clueless could a person be? Ginny Weasley fancied the pants off Draco Malfoy and she was denying it. Even a first year could tell that she does!

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"You're trying out for the team?" Hermione couldn't hide her surprise when Ginny told her of her plan as they made their way towards the Quidditch pitch where tryouts were being held.

"Yeah. I promised Ron, the twins, and Harry that I'd give it a try," she shrugged.

"Honoring the Weasley tradition of having a member of the family join the team, eh?" Twyla fell into step beside the red head, her shiny Nimbus 2002 resting on her shoulder.

"Something like that," she smiled at her close friend and the captain of the Gryffindor team.

"You'll do alright, kiddo." Twyla clipped her on the shoulder, giving it a light squeeze before walking ahead of the red head and the brunette teacher, "Well, see you at the pitch then, Weasley!"

"I'll be there, Isaacs!" Ginny waved her friend off before turning to face Hermione, "Which position do you think I should try out for, Mione? There's an open position for a Chaser, a Beater, and of course, Harry's old spot, the Seeker."

Hermione pondered on her answer for a while, thinking what was the best position for the youngest Weasley to try out. She noticed how much Ron, Harry, Fred, and George trained their sister over Quidditch. She got the twins' skill as Beater--good, strong arms that can whack any damn Bludger from here to oblivion! She also got Ron's speed and agility as a Chaser. And most importantly, she acquired Harry's talent at spotting even the smallest speck of dirt and chase after it. All in all she was very well qualified for all three positions, but which one to choose was an entirely different matter.

"Mione?" Ginny was waiting for her reply, shifting from foot to foot in anticipation. She already had a position in mind, but she didn't want to take it unless she could have someone's assurance that she would be good at it. And the only person who knew how well she played Quidditch--from the lessons she got from her brothers and surrogate brother--over the summer was Hermione so her opinion really ranked high on her list.

"Well, you're good at all _three_ positions, Gin. Which one is it that _you_ wanted to snag?"

Oh crap, now the ball was back in her court again. Of course she didn't have to think hard about what position she wanted to have.

"I'll try out for beater," she announced with a sheepish smile on her elfin-like face.

"I'd say that's a perfect choice, Weasley."

Ginny and Hermione were both startled to hear Draco Malfoy's voice. Ginny whipped her head over her shoulder and gave her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher a mixture of glare and confused look. Hermione, on the other hand, crossed her arms over her chest and put on a bored expression on her face.

"Eavesdropping, Professor?" she mockingly asked.

Ginny's heart almost skipped a bit when, instead of smirking or glaring, Draco's face became alight with what could've been a rare smile seen to appear on his handsome face! Hell, why didn't she notice it before that he was indeed a fine good eye-candy?

_It's because he often made fun of you back then for you to actually pay attention to his face,_ a small voice at the back of her head answered her. Ginny pursed her lips in consideration. Yeah, that was true. She was far too busy paying attention to the numerous insults Draco Malfoy hurtled her way--and her family and friends--to actually stop and look at how much his features has changed over the years.

_Boy, he sure did a lot of growing over the summer!_ her mind sighed dreamily. _Oh snap out of it, Weasley! It's just Malfoy playing the role of hunky professor after perfecting his hunky student role for the past seven damn years at Hogwarts!_ her other subconscious scolded.

"And why, pray tell, do you agree with my choice of position, Professor Malfoy, hm?" she questioned, turning fully around to face him, arms crossed over her chest, an eyebrow raised as she awaited his reply.

"Why certainly, Ms. Weasley. I'll enlighten you with my thoughts on that matter," Draco crossed the short space separating them. He now stood towering over Ginny, the top of her shiny mop of red hair coming just short of his chest, making him look all too superior over her, but Ginny didn't waver. She pulled her head all the way to the back until she was seeing him eye-to-eye, her eyebrow still raised in anticipation of his explanation.

"Well? I'm still waiting here, Professor."

Draco grinned down at the almost pint-sized Gryffidor redhead, the last of her line to attend Hogwarts.

"A little bird told me _your_ precious Derek made it as seeker for Slytherin. If you got the beater position, you can the bludgers as hard as you can and send the damn ball careening towards hotlips," he winked down at her before his face broke into a full-blown smile. A real smile, not some fake, forced smile he often has plastered on his damn face. "Go get 'em, tiger," he added and to her--and Hermione's as well--surprise, Draco's hand slipped behind her and gave Ginny's rump a good swatting before he headed off towards the opposite direction from the pitch.

Ginny let out a startled yelp and quickly put her hands to cover her behind, her brown eyes following the departing broad shouldered back of her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Hermione stepped up closer to her startled friend, her brown eyes also directed at the departing blond haired professor, her jaw hanging down in disbelief at what she just saw.

"I could sue him for harassment," Ginny said under her breath, but she didn't sound the least bit offended. She was more like numbed on the spot from shock that doesn't want to wear off right away.

Hermione let chuckled behind you, "I don't think so, Gin. You won't be suing him for anything any time soon. If I do say so myself, your _least_ favourite teacher has just taken a sudden liking to you," she teased while suppressing a huge grin from appearing on her face. Although she and Draco has gotten closer since the beginning of the school year, still, the former Slytherin bad boy--who was _still_ a bad boy--has a few tricks up his sleeves that could sure surprise anyone who witnessed what he was capable of.

"And did I just hear him right?" Hermione questioned, frowning now as she recalled what she heard Draco tell Ginny about her becoming a beater for Gryffindor.

Ginny turned about face and headed towards the pitch once more with Hermione dogging her steps beside her. "Did you hear what right, Mione?"

"I don't know if my ears were just deceiving me or if he actually said what I thought he just said."

Ginny rolled her eyes skyward. Hermione was babbling incessantly once again. Sometimes she wondered _when_ will come the day when Hermione Granger would just get to the point without having to beat around the bush so much.

"Mione, will you just spit it out what it is you wanted to ask. I can't play guessing game with you right now when I'm trying to get pumped-up for my tryout."

"Fine, fine. I was just wondering if Malfoy actually gave you permission to whoop your ex-boyfriend's ass if ever you make it as beater for Gryffindor since Derek landed the vacant seeker position for Slytherin."

"I believe he did give me permission, Mione," she nodded and waved at her fellow seventh year, Janelle Harris, who was waiting for her to arrive. She looked back at her friend and smiled, "Look, why don't you just watch me try out for the team over at the stands and cheer for me, okay? Then afterwards we can go for tea or whatever you have planned."

"Alright. And good luck, Gin. Make Fred and George proud. Hit those damn bludgers as hard as you can so you can make it to the team," she patted her friend's shoulder before heading towards the stands while Ginny met up with Janelle.

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Ginny and Janelle made it to the team. Janelle Harris was the newest Gryffindor chaser along with sixth year Anton Sylyc. Ginny made became the newest beater much to her delight. She glanced over to where Hermione sat and she couldn't stop laughing as her best friend kept on giggling and jumping up and down the stands when Ginny snagged the position she tried out for. The new Gryffindor Quidditch players remained at the pitch for an extra half hour after the new members were chosen while Twyla gave them a quick pep-talk about how she will run the team, when practices will be held and which house team they will face for their first match.

Ginny grinned from ear to ear when Twyla informed them they will be facing off with Slytherin for their first match. She would then take Draco Malfoy's advice and whoop some Derek Boones' ass off his damn Comet 2003.

Twyla gave her teammates her final reminder for the day before dismissing her players. She was so psyched-up about this year's Quidditch season (her enthusiasm over it reminded Ginny so much of what Oliver Wood--former captain and keeper of the Gryffindor team before it was passed on to Harry in his fifth year) seeing as it was her final year at Hogwarts. Ginny knew Twyla wanted to leave with a bang like her predecessors--namely Wood and Harry.

Ginny headed towards where Hermione stood waiting for her. From the huge smile plastered on her face, Ginny knew her Arithmancy teacher was proud of her for making the team.

"Congratulations!" she threw her arms around the petite redhead's neck when she was close enough for her to do so, pulling her closer for a bone-crushing hug. "I can't wait to owl your bothers and tell them the news," she enthused, pulling away from the embrace--to Ginny's relief. She never thought Hermione could hug so tight. She always struck her as someone who was frail and meek, not someone who looked frail on the outside but was made of much sterner stuff!

"Oh I'm sure Fred and George will be very delighted," she grinned, a starry look glazing her eyes as she pictured her prankster twin brothers reveling at the news of her making the team and becoming the next member of the Weasley family to become a Quidditch beater.

"So, still up for some tea?" asked Hermione.

Ginny wrinkled her nose and looked over her shoulder at the empty Quidditch pitch. Tryouts for all teams was already over and it looked like she could have the pitch to herself. God knows she needed extra more practice with her flying and get more comfortable on her new mount.

Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Bill, Percy, and Charlie pooled some money together and bought her the latest and fastest model of the Firebolt broomstick. It was their joint birthday present for her after she passed her grueling Quidditch summer boot camp session with the twins, Ron, and Harry. It was a backbreaking six weeks of sweat, splinter (from the broomstick she was using), sprain (from when she accidentally falls off her broomstick when one of her brothers--or sometimes even Harry--decided to surprise her while she was up in the air), and stress (because Ron gets too temperamental when she couldn't execute a certain maneuver right) which paid off quite nicely since she snagged a position in her house team. Also the Firebolt was an added bonus. She wasn't expecting her brothers to pool together some money and surprise her with a gift that she knew she would always treasure--and guard with her life if needed be!

She looked back at Hermione and declined her friend's invitation. She was far too excited to sit around in a room sipping tea and eating scones. Hermione understood and left her to enjoy the rest of her afternoon practicing.

"I'll just see you at dinner, and don't stay out here too long," she reminded sternly knowing how much of an addict Ginny has become since her brothers--and Harry--introduced her to the wonderful world of Quidditch, not that she needed any introduction to it per se, but to actually learn how to play it was an entirely different thing. Hermione was surprised at how much Ginny enjoyed the sport and was determined to make it this year to the house team--which she eventually did. Hermione thought Ginny took more after Percy; studious and strict.

"I promise I'll be back in the castle before sundown," Ginny promised with a firm nod of her head, her hand clutching the handle of her Firebolt tightly.

"Okay. Have fun, Gin!" Hermione called over her shoulder and walked back towards the castle.

Ginny mounted her Firebolt in a rush, kicking off the ground as hard as she could and soared right up into the air. She practiced her dodging tactics and did a couple of laps back and forth, picking up speed each time she did so. 

She remembered Fred and George's numerous tips regarding dodging runaway bludgers to hitting them hard, sending the black ball careening towards the opposing team member's way or even farther. Ron's voice still rang through to her head, spewing advice after advice on how to move like the greatest chaser in the entire world; speed and agility was a must to outrun and out-maneuver the opposing team. Then cam Harry's voice of comfort, telling her she doesn't have to be super girl to come out on top in the game; all she needed was a good hand-eyes coordination and to always trust her instincts because it was almost always right.

It was a great comfort to her to have him around during her torturous boot camp session with her brothers. He was always calm whenever Ron loses his cool; he was the one who kept her sane when the twins were driving her nuts with their instructions; and he was there to cheer her on even when she was being at her lousiest element. He never raised his voice at her (unlike her brothers--Ron to be quite specific) except when she was being too thick, but otherwise he was the 'cool one' out of her four instructors.

Oblivious to the world around her, Ginny was so lost in her practice that she didn't feel a pair of gray and blue eyes watching her from two separate spots.

Draco made himself comfortable on one of the watch towers, his eyes gazing appreciatively at the flash of red zooming back and forth in front of him. He watched her tryout for her house team and was impressed at how talented she was. Judging from her movements, she was trained by a few of the best players he had the pleasure of competing against with. He wouldn't outright admit it, though, but Draco had more pleasure playing against the Gryffindor team. They were a bunch of passionate, combative lot who gave Slytherin a good thrashing every time. They took house rivalry to another level whenever they played--and it was _never_ a good match between Gryffindor and Slytherin ever. Too bad he already graduated with Potter, Granger, and Weasley; he would've loved to have played against Gryffindor with Ginny on their team. As much as she looked like sin on a broomstick (seriously, he never noticed just how much Ginny Weasley has turned out to be quite an eyecatcher until he began teaching at Hogwarts this year), she also had the same passion radiating from her whenever she had the club in her hand and a bludger swooping nearby.

Meanwhile, safe on the ground, Derek stood by the entranceway to the changing rooms, his arm propped against the wall while watching the redhead dart here and there up high in the air. She was doing some fancy loop-the-loops and spiral dives while honing in to her surrounding.

God, she never looked so darn attractive until now! Perched on her shiny broomstick, her red hair pulled back in what once was a neat ponytail, now some of her flaming locks broke free off its constraints, whipping against her face in all direction as she continued her rigorous practice. She changed a lot over the summer too. Her shoulders got more broader, her legs became more toned, and her body was sporting more curves than he remembered from last year! What the hell had she been doing all summer?

Hell. Now he knew _why_ Malfoy was ogling at Ginny when he thought no one was watching him. And who could blame Malfoy from ogling? For a petite girl, Ginny Weasley simply had a body to die for--and legs that seemed to go on forever!

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**A/N:** once again I thank _**Blu Misterie**_ for editing this chapter. and...well, I know this one's like a day delayed from being posted (for some odd reason I was busy yesterday *lol*), but here it is again. as always, read, review & enjoy!

**Polgara:** nope, it didn't sound corny to me at all :::grins::: i'm glad you're liking this fic, and i'm trying to make Ginny's ex-beau a real jerk...seems like its working if you find him jerk-y *LOL* and the best way for almost every story to read is the love-hate relationship between the two main characters

**Kitycat87:** hope you this one's a cool chapter too

**karly:** yeah, i enjoyed _snake charming_, but not as much as a i enjoyed _drops_ (i can't really remember the rest of that darn fic's title *lol*), thanks for recommending those two stories to me. and i'm working on _how_ Derek will have fun with the obvious attraction between Draco & Ginny...

**Junebug:** thank you, thank you, thank you

**Sharlene:** *lol* thank you for not liking Derek! that's the whole point on why he is what he is in the fic

**mavis:** hmm...i'm not sure yet, but it'll be a Derek/Ginny/Draco for a while...then probably i'll throw in something else again--we'll see

**sassw14:** we'll see how many more embarrassing moments i can think of and incorporate here

**Redmeadow:** i'm trying to get some Ginny PoV and...well, i think i managed to!

**Crystal:** Draco's mean???? *lol* how???

**SeZzA:** i'm trying to update as often as i can here, dearie

**MYSTIQUE:** you like both D's, eh? *lol* but of course you'll stay loyal to Draco :::grins:::

**kellyanne:** here's the update...and thanks for the ice cream! *lol*

**Angel-Hiragizawa32:** yeah, i seem to be on a great roll here! *lol* i'm so inspired i can't believe it sometimes because usually it takes me a long while to finish a chapter

**Xela:** why thank you for saying this is the greatest...hope you liked this chapter

**B-chan and Syaorons angel:** thanks and i'm glad you enjoyed this fic

**Laura:** thanks and here's the next chappie

**CiNdY:** i aimed for it to be funny one way or the other...and original?! whoa! thanks for saying that! *lol*

**Miss Marauder:** thank you, thank you, thank you...and you've been busy too, eh? well, same here. but amidst my so-called busy schedule and i'm still managing to squeeze in some time to sit down and write the next chapter for this fic

**Starry:** thanks you...hopefully it gets better as the chappies progress

**SAngel:** thanks for loving this fic and taking the time to read it even! *lol*

**Canis Lupin:** lack of description of what? and abrasive? hmm...i tend to make the original characters to act so out of character because it's fun to do it that way, but nevertheless, thank you for your input and sometimes i write things the way i talk...it makes sense to me and to some people somehow so i think i must be doing something right one way or the other...

**sadie (say-dee:** well Draco was being clueless and...uhm...i think the green-eyed monster took over him for a moment there so he didn't really know what was and what wasn't! *lol* now please, calm down and take a depe breath...okay now? :::grins:::

**Arella Hallo:** oh you're so totally right! i want the readers to want to hate Derek soooo much you could just strangle him to death if ever he was real! *lol* 

**OpalKoboi:** thanks for liking this...and you like things that would never ever really happen??? hmm...i think i get it but i just might want you to explain that to me for a much better understanding from my part! *lol*

**MelissaAdams:** here's what happens next...and i'm working on the chapter after this...as for LGO...i'm soooooo stuck with it i can't even move forward! :( but don't worry, i'll try and get off my writer's block problem concerning LGO, and once i do you'll be the first to know of the update! :::grins:::


	6. Owling & Invitation

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** am I going too slow with this fic? too fast? please let me know 'coz I honestly am lost! :::laughs like a maniac::: :::clears throat::: sorry...just have to let that out of my system! anyways, as always read, review & enjoy this chappie...that's all for now....

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**VI. Owling & Invitation**

Ginny was training doubly hard for the last couple of weeks in preparation for the first match of the season. She owled her family and Harry to let them know how her training was going. She went as far as inviting those who'd be able to make it to attend her first match if they could. She wanted her brothers to see her go against Slytherin and pulverize them.

The weekend before the first match was a Hogsmeade weekend. Ginny owled Harry to let him know and asked if he could get a hold of the twins and Ron to set up a get-together at the Three Broomsticks with Hermione and herself. She missed hanging out with them since school started and she wanted to take advantage of the Hogsmeade weekend to get together with the people she missed.

Harry owled her back almost immediately, telling her that he has spoken to George and he said he'd love to meet at Hogsmeade to personally congratulate her. He also sent an owl to Fred and Ron telling them of the plan. Harry said either Ron or Fred would owl her back to let her know of their answer.

Ginny was practically walking on cloud nine when she got an owl at breakfast. She told Hermione that Harry and George said they'll see them at Hogsmeade this coming weekend as soon as she got to her Arithmancy class. Ginny also noticed the extra sparkle that lit Hermione's eyes as soon as she mentioned Harry and George were coming to meet them at Hogsmeade. Looks like somebody other than her fancied the Boy Who Lived at some point in their lives.

Her morning classes flew by so quickly and now she was on her way out of her Double Potions class. Snape was still a pain in the arse, putting her on the spot in class and almost reluctantly awarder her points for answering all his toughest questions.

She was busy talking to Colin about a project in Charms when Snape spotted her not paying attention while he was explaining he importance of eye of newt and the effect it has when mixed inappropriately with the potion they were brewing. Ginny surprised the pompous arse professor by answering him back verbatim. Everyone in class who knew she wasn't listening were shocked as well. They weren't expecting her to answer Snape correctly with her lack of attention in class.

So, armed with the fifty points Snape reluctantly awarded Gryffindor, Ginny marched off to her next class. Colin, who still couldn't believe how Ginny managed to answer Snape's questions, was walking with her to class. He was asking her how she managed to give out the correct answers when she was busy yakking with him.

"I wouldn't be able to answer him when I was put on the spot like that," he exclaimed, his eyes wide from fear as he pictured in his head what Snape would do to him if he wasn't able to answer at least one question he asked Ginny earlier.

"Oh Colin, you can do it too. You'll just have to train yourself, that's all."

"Train myself how?" he frowned and looked at her, or more like looked _down_ at her since he was almost close to six feet in height to her five foot three stature.

Ginny stopped outside their classroom and pondered for a while on how to explain it to him. While growing up in a large household, Ginny trained herself to be always alert in case any one of her older brothers--most especially the twins--was up to no good and decided to play their tricks on _her._

She first noticed she had a knack for dividing her attention when she was about twelve years old. It was summer and like most Hogwarts students, she was busy pouring out her time answering her summer homework. She was busy writing an essay when she heard a distinct sound from behind her; Fred and George wanted to use _her_ as their test dummy for one of their numerous gag inventions. They were talking about it in a not so hushed tone since they thought Ginny wouldn't know about it because her head was bent down on the piece of parchment she was using to write her essay.

Fred agreed to sneak up behind Ginny and drop a Fire Bomb on her homework, but she was prepared for it and surprised her brother by turning around and scolding him for what he was about to do. Needless to say Fred accidentally dropped the Fire Bomb ball on himself and nearly singed his clothing. He was fuming mad at her for foiling their plan and after his irritation subsided he then asked her how she knew what he was about to do. She simply told him she heard him and George talking about it while she was writing her essay.

"Ginny?" Colin was still waiting for her explanation.

Ginny snapped back into present time and smiled at her friend. "It's a bit complicated, but in a nutshell you'll have to be able to divide your attention and try to concentrate on two things at once," she explained as best as she could.

Colin's forehead furrowed at the center, "How?" he asked when he still couldn't get it.

"Let's just drop it for now and get to class, okay?" she suggested and made a move to enter the room.

Reluctantly Colin agreed and stepped aside to let her precede him. The classroom was almost full when they got there, and as always Draco wasn't there yet.

Ginny slid into her seat and started taking stuff out of her backpack. Colin took his place beside her and did what she was doing, but he still kept on asking her how she trained herself to divide her attention. Ginny explained as best as she could for him to understand, but Colin still couldn't comprehend what she was telling him.

She was about to explain it to him again when she felt a presence loom over from behind her. She looked over her shoulder and slowly raked her gaze up a flat stomach encased by a silk shirt that screamed expensive all the way to a wide span of shoulders, a semi-thick neck before resting her eyes on the face of the owner. Derek had that familiar smirk that he copied from Draco plastered on his tanned face.

"What do you want, Derek?" Ginny asked disinterestedly.

Derek raised an eyebrow and leaned down until his eyes were level with hers, his hand braced against the side of her desk while the other was against the back of her chair. His blue eyes gazing at her lovely face appreciatively.

Ginny felt goosebumps all over her upper arms when she noticed the way Derek was looking at her. It was the same appreciative look he had when they were still going out and he wanted to get some snoggin'. It used to make her melt whenever she was the recipient of that certain look, but now it was making her feel icky and irritated.

"Look here, Derek, if you have something to say then say it, otherwise go pester somebody else. Colin and I are talking here," she said with a great big deal of irritation when Derek just continued staring at her.

"I just wanted to congratulate you, Gin," he shrugged, but he didn't leave right away.

"Is that all?" Ginny quirked an eyebrow, obviously she doesn't care about what he said just as long as he get out of her sight.

Colin knew Derek Boones was on Ginny's leave favourite people to associate with list, and his lingering presence at their desk was irritating the temperamental Gryffindor.

"Look Boones, you obviously have no business of great importance here so why don't you just bugger off and leave us alone, huh?" he shooed the annoying Slytherin away on Ginny's behalf. Like his friend, Colin doesn't think highly of Derek Boones either.

Derek tore his gaze from Ginny then and addressed the boy seated beside his former flame, an eyebrow raised questioningly at the gall of the meek Gryffindor to tell him to bug off.

"I'm not finished asking Ginny a question yet, Creevey, so why don't _you_ bugger off and let me ask her my question," he sneered.

"I'm sure you can continue your courting of Ms. Weasley at another time, Mr. Boones," came Draco's dry-toned voice from the doorway. "I have a class to teach and you, lover boy, better get back to your seat and hopefully remain there for the rest of the period," he moved away from the doorway and stopped right behind the leaning Slytherin looming about by Ginny's desk.

Draco grabbed Derek by the collar of his robe and dragged him down the aisle before stopping five rows down to the front on the opposite side of the room where he sat. "I believe _this_ is where you're suppose to be, Mr. Boones. Next time I have to escort you back to your seat you'll get points taken off and probably a detention depending on my mood," he warned the stubborn blond who glared at him.

Derek swatted Draco's hand off the collar of his robe and pulled his chair, angrily parking himself down and crossed his arms over his chest. From where Ginny sat she could tell Derek was shooting daggers at the back of their teacher's head as he walked to the front of the room, but Derek glaring a hole at the back of Draco's head wasn't what caught her attention.

This was probably the umpteenth time Draco intervened whenever Derek was around her, pestering her all the time with his annoying presence. She noticed Draco often embarrassed Derek at _his_ expense, and he even docked off points from Slytherin at Derek's expense when he was being a prat. In his class Draco rarely docked off points from Gryffindor, except when one or two of her housemates were being smart-alecky then he deduct points off them, but they weren't really that high. One time when Colin wasn't paying attention to his discussion and he was asked to explain the different kinds of weapons to use when dealing with vampires, Draco only deducted five points from Gryffindor and a warning to Colin to pay attention next time when he failed to answer his question. When a Slytherin pulled a Colin act the next day in class, Draco not only docked off twenty-five points from the unfortunate student, she was also asked to submit two parchment's worth of detailed account on where vampires hide, how to hunt them, and most importantly how to kill them and their colony if ever they have one.

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_Dearest Ginny,_

_ I received your owl just now while I'm in the middle finalizing the interview article George and I made of Viktor Krum (it was damn near impossible since your brother often made side comments throughout which was recorded by the QuickNotes word-for-word!)._

_ So Malfoy is favouring Gryffindor over Slytherin during your DADA classes with him? Hmm...that's odd. I thought Malfoy would remain loyal to his former housemates. Well, I really shouldn't be worrying that much about it since Hermione owled me as well telling me just how well she and Malfoy were getting along._

_ CAN YOU FREAKING BELIEVE IT?!_

_ I nearly fell off my chair when I read Hermione's latest owl post to me. I know they were both hired as new teachers this year at Hogwarts, but for them to actually get along after spending years snarling, insulting, hating, and hitting each other (it was mostly Hermione hitting that damn ferret 'coz I think deep down Malfoy was a gentleman at heart) they'd end up like the best of friends!_

_ Anyway, enough about Malfoy. On with other pressing matters at hand. Ron contacted me earlier today and told me that he spoke with Fred as well (and Percy since he was nearby when they were talking) and they'll be joining us as well (Percy included!) this Saturday at the Three Broomsticks. We will be there around two-thirty in the afternoon. If we get there first we'll save a seat for you and Hermione, but if you two were there first, make sure to save a seat for the five of us._

_ Okay, I think I'll end my letter here. Hope you have a good day and don't worry too much about Malfoy acting weird. That git's always been weird as far as I'm concerned, now he's just acting more weirder than usual. Anyhow, keep me posted on what else is happening there in school. And send my regards to Hermione. I wanted to send her an owl but I'm pressed for time. I need to submit this interview article before today's deadline and I have yet to delete some of George's 'witty' comments about Krum._

_Your friend always,_

_Harry_

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_My Dearest Harry,_

_ I am not worried about Malfoy acting weird. Hell, he can act as weird as often as he likes as long as Gryffindor prosper in his weirdness! And as long as he gives Derek as much detention in a month for the rest of the school year I'm more than happy with it (I have a huge, dopey grin plastered on my face right now thinking of all those detentions Derek would have to suffer through)._

_ Anyway, Hermione sends her regards back to you. She even told me to tell you not to do any interviews with George around--he's bound to mess things up for you and your precious articles! (laughing hysterically here) Yeah, like you can pry George away from you. That brother of mine is always into some sort of mischief like Fred is...oh wait, they're twins! Duh! Of course they're both into mischief! Sorry, been hanging around Twyla and Janelle a lot lately because of practice--having some blond moment here._

_ Anyway Harry, I think I'll end this letter now, but before I do, mind if I ask you just how well do you know Malfoy? I know he's a pain in the neck (or sometimes even lower), but surely there must be a time when he had his guard down. I'm just asking out of sheer curiosity._

_ Take care of yourself and send my regards to George._

_Love always,_

_Ginny_

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_Dearest Gin,_

_ Just out of sheer curiosity myself...do you fancy ferret boy?_

_Your friend always, _

_Harry_

_p.s._

_ George sends his love, by the way._

Ginny stared at the letter (more like a note) in her hands. She had been owling with Harry back and forth, and in most of her letters to him she expressed her annoyance at Derek, her Quidditch practices, her classes, and more often than not she mentioned Malfoy's penchant for picking on her in his class. Sure she tend to talk about Draco a lot in her letters since his class and Snape's class were the only ones she doesn't particularly like.

How could Harry speculate on her fancying Draco Malfoy based on her letters to him? She complained a lot about Snape too, does that mean she fancied her potions teacher too?

Ginny sat back and pictured Professor Severus Snape in her head. Straight, chin-length greasy black hair, small, black beady eyes, a crooked nose, and a permanent smirk etched on his face. Not to mention he had a liking to wearing all black for his attire every damn day!

_Eeewww!_ Ginny shuddered at the bad mental picture. Severus Snape might be a much better teacher than Gilderoy Lockhart (a one-time DADA teacher whose memory got wuped out), but she'd sooner fancy the vain blond former teacher than moon over cranky Professor Snape!

Now Draco Malfoy was an entirely different matter.

She pulled up her feet and rested it on the armchair she was sitting on, drawing her arms around her legs and pulled them closer to her chest. She rested her cheek on her knees, letting her hair cascade down the side of her leg as she gazed into the roaring fire in the hearth. Her red hair looked like it was on fire as well as she sat there peacefully. It was already Friday night, all the students went to bed almost an hour ago; they were excited about tomorrow, and so was Ginny, but now her mind drifted off to a certain blond haired teacher who did nothing but both infuriate and amaze her instead of the special event happening tomorrow.

When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express at the end of last term, she caught sight of the newly grad Draco Malfoy boarding the train as well after Crabbe and before Goyle; his two nitwit friends still stood guard to their leader, making sure no one dared to mess with him. Ginny doubted that anyone would dare pick a fight with Draco.

She noticed the change in Draco since her sixth year. He grew a few inches taller, gained some weight which was then lost due to his non-stop workout practicing Quidditch. He became good at the sport as well after years of rigorous practice. And his few added pounds became muscles overtime. His arms started sprouting them, his legs became toned as well, not to mention his butt started attracting more attention than the rest of him! If those girls she heard gossiping about it were telling the truth, Draco Malfoy owned a very nice, firm buttocks. He also started showing off a perfect set of six-pack whenever he wore those muscle shirts that hugged one's body.

Quite a lot of girls swooned whenever he walked back into the castle after his Quiddith practice, all covered in sweat and mud, but Ginny wasn't among those who swooned over him. Sure she stole one or two glances at his rear-end and found out that none of the girls were lying when they said he had a nice butt, but other than admiring his awesome behind, she never paid anymore attention to the rest of him.

Until now.

His hair was no longer slicked-back like before. It was still long, but instead of using tons of gel on it, he let it lay on his head with some sort of wet look style to it. Some of his blond locks were even getting in his eyes, but with a quick brush of his fingers, he combed his hair back to get it off his eyes. Ginny found the action sexy most of the time since he just do it automatically while teaching in class. And her eyes to be glued on his fascinating tushies whenever his back was facing them.

Ginny let out a long, hearty sigh. Her eyes were still on the fire but her mind was off to la la land. She gotta admit, Draco Malfoy was still the hunkiest male at Hogwarts; Derek Boones was just a copycat who couldn't oust the number one heartthrob of the school.

_And you're starting to like him,_ a small voice in her head teased.

"Yeah...maybe," Ginny said sleepily to no one in particular before her eyes closed, a content smile on her face as sleep took over her.

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**A/N:** hmm...didn't expect this one to be a bit longer than my previous chapters. nevertheless, hope you enjoyed this as much as i enjoyed writing/typing it. comments/suggestions are welcome--i'm open to it so please don't forget to leave it in your reviews, thanks!

**mavis:** oh that's already a given! :::laughs::: derek taunts ginny and ginny reacts, but then against every time she does draco's nearby to give derek detention *LMFAO*

**kellyanne:** oh no, please don't take draco away! right now rest assured that i'll be updating if not every day then it's going to be every other day _or_ if i'm really busy it's gonna be every second day! *lol*

**Arella Hallo:** oh i'd never do that. there's no fun being a seeker. now her being a beater...hehehe, she can have way soooo much fun with the bludger and club in her hands! *LOL*

**MelissaAdams:** aww...hopefully your pc gets fixed soon and you recover all those files you lost or misplaced or whatever. and LGO will be sitting there quietly until i decide to continue it again! *lol* thanks for the compliment, btw

**Polgara:** yep, there are rules against student/teacher relationships in school which draco will follow to a T--and so would ginny, hehehehe but derek being a prat that he is will cook up some sort of mischief...dunno yet if it requires some blackmailing or whatnot...we'll just hafta wait and see what he could come up with :::winks:::

**Xela:** *LOL* that was my fave bit while writing the previous chappie--draco slapping ginny's rump! under any normal circumstance no teacher in their right mind would do what he did, but then it's draco malfoy we're talking about here--he can do whatever he damn pleases to do!

**me:** i'm doing my best to update as often as i can. since i am oozing with ideas for this one i'll be updating either daily or every other day, but once i get stuck it might take a very long while for me to do so...

**Anyanka:** ron finding out about his little sister's affair with draco (or any other guy for that matter) is always hilarious to read...and don't you worry, we'll see some ron-temper-tantrums thrown in if ever something happens between the professor and the student that ron doesn't particularly like

**tigereyes320:** i'm trying to aim for this fic to be more funny and a bit romantic--_not_ dramatic! *lol* and i don't think any school tolerates student/teacher relationship so that's one of the major trial draco & ginny must face in this fic

**Faltering Hues:** you said it girl (about draco being the sexiest wizard alive!)...and send draco on a vacation to your place? uhm...why not i just send derek instead and have draco vacation with me, hm? :::evil grin::: now that sounds more like it! *lol*

**Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey:** i just checked it out and it was good...update it so i'll find out what happens next :::grins::: and you know what? while i'm writing/typing ginny practicing at the pitch in the previous chapter, i was seriously considering about sending draco on his broomstick and surprise her, but i thought better of it...so maybe draco & ginny playing Quidditch together or against each other will come in later chapters :::winks:::

**SAngel:** amen to that! *lol* they're a cute pair, this two, too bad it ain't going to happen in the book series :-/


	7. Don't Mess With Our Girl

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** :::singing::: let me tell you the story about the call that changed my destiny...me and my boys went out just to end a misery.... :::stops and looks at the readers, smiling sheepishly::: HI!!! sorry about that, listening to some BSB tunes they're playing on TV *lol* used to go crazy over boy bands but not anymore...anyways, here's the next chapter. the Weasley boys (minus Bill & Charlie of course) & Harry will be here and...uhm...I think I'm aiming for expanding the pairings and not just focus on Ginny & Draco...oh well, we'll see...we'll just leave that field open for now... :::grins and winks:::

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**VII. Don't Mess With Our Girl**

Hogsmeade became overpopulated with excited students going in and out of every shop filled with interesting goodies. Ginny joined in with the throngs of students bustling about and buying stuff that catches their fancy. Twyla and Janelle--as well as Colin--were with her while they walked around Hogsmeade.

Hermione told her she would just meet with her at the Three Broomsticks while she enjoy the rest of her day with her friends.

Nearing two-thirty in the afternoon Ginny started for the Three Broomsticks accompanied by her friends. Hermione was already there and saved them a table and seats.

"The boys aren't here yet?" Ginny asked as she slipped into the seat beside Hermione.

"Harry sent me an owl this morning. He said they might be a bit late because Percy's being his usual self again."

"What? He's being his usual stick-in-the-mud self again? What else is new?" Twyla chuckled. She always liked making fun of Percy, but underneath it all they knew--everyone at the table that is--that Twyla had the biggest crush on the nerdy, stuck-up Weasley brother.

Ginny rolled her eyes at Twyla while Janelle and Hermione both snickered. Colin then whipped out his camera and snapped a picture of the girls. He was keeping track of all the happenings that occurred between him and his friends during his years at Hogwarts then file all the pictures in an album to give away to his friends at the end of the school year as a keepsake.

The quartet then filled Hermione on what they'd been doing all morning, showing their purchases and sharing their sweets with her while they waited for the Weasley boys and Harry to arrive. Colin kept on snapping pictures whenever he saw it fit to do so.

The quintet were deep in conversation about next week's first Quidditch match by the time Harry and the Weasleys arrived. Their entrance wasn't a quiet one either. Percy was making a ruckus by scolding one of the twins for pulling another prank on him on their way to Hogsmeade.

Janelle leaned closer to Twyla and whispered, "Ooh, looks like your boyfriend's in a pissy mood. Better go give him a wet one as soon as he sits down," she teased, nudging her friend slightly.

Twyla's ears started to turn red from embarrassment. She shot Janelle a shut-your-yap glare before the rest of her face turned a bright shade of red. Hermione, Ginny, and Janelle guffawed at Twyla's obvious discomfort while Colin took a picture of their tomato-red-faced friend.

Percy stopped scolding Fred when he heard laughter burst from the table they were heading to. Harry, Ron, and George peered over him and Fred to see what was happening.

Twyla, Ginny's curly haired friend, was blushing furiously and was aiming sharp glares at the other four people at the table with her. Hermione was doing her best to not laugh so hard beside Ginny who was full-out laughing so hard at Twyla she had to clutch the side of her stomach. Janelle was trying to move away from Twyla's hitting range, but Colin was blocking her escape.

"Man, and to think they're what? Seventh years already and they're still acting like kids! _Jeez!_" Fred snorted, shaking his mop of short red hair similar to that of Ginny's as he watched the quintet at the table.

Harry and Ron looked at each other and made a face at Fred's comment. George chuckled from behind Percy while Percy rolled his eyes skyward, an expression on his face saying 'oh brother!' before he smacked his brother on the side of his head.

"Look who's talking. _You_ already graduated two years ago, yet you still act like a six-year-old," he berated before walking towards his sister and her friends.

Ginny stopped laughing when she saw Percy standing behind a beet red Twyla. She knew how mortified her friend would be when she finds out Percy was standing there, and she loved to torment her friends sometimes.

"Hi Perce!" she greeted cheerily, grinning from ear to ear while she watched Twyla's face turn even more redder than before from the corner of her eye, "Gave Freddie a good scoldin'?"

"You know Fred as well as I do, Gin," he said dramatically with an exasperated tone to his voice, "He _never_ listens to anyone. Hi Twyla," he greeted as an afterthought after he sat down beside the Gryffindor Quidditch captain.

"H-hullo, Percy," Twyla stammered, her eyes averted from the direction of the older Weasley brother.

Gales of laughter erupted from the table once again. The rest of the guys walked up to them and took their seats still wondering what was funny, but one look at Twyla's red face and they knew _she_ was the butt of their joke.

Harry squeezed himself between Hermione and Ginny while Ron snapped up the chair on Hermione's other side. The twins made themselves comfortable across from them, with Fred squeezing in between red-faced Twyla and the sniggering Janelle and George squeezed between Janelle and Colin.

"What's so funny?" asked Ron, frowning at Twyla then turning to Hermione for some answers.

Hermione turned and leaned in to whisper to Ron, "Twyla's got a huge crush on your brother and we're having fun teasing her."

Ron's eyes widen and he darted a surprised look at Twyla who then caught his eyes. He gave her a wide, toothy grin before winking, making the poor girl blush even hard (as if she could blush even more so than she already does!).

"Oh, stop it you guys!" she groaned, wanting the floor to open up and swallow her whole.

"Oh be a good sport, Twyla," Fred jabbed her on the side and snickered, "It's just been a while since we made _you_ blush."

"What-ever," she rolled her eyes heavenwards and did her best to ignore the teasing glances Ron was darting at her, Fred's non-stop jabbing and Ginny's foot kicking her from under the table.

Percy ordered them all a mug of Butterbeer and got down to the business of talking about school. Hermione told them how her Arithmancy classes were going and which students of hers reminded her of her friends. Ginny, Twyla, and Janelle then changed the subject to talk about Quidditch and their upcoming match against Slytherin the following weekend.

"You guys will make it, right?" Ginny asked hopefully, looking from Percy down to Fred and George, "I mean, at least _one_ or _two_ of you would be able to come and cheer Gryffindor on, right?"

"Don't worry Gin, I'll make sure to be there to cheer you on," Harry assured her, looping his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

Ginny turned to Harry and smiled up at him, "Thanks, Harry. That means a lot because I'll be under a whole lot of pressure and aside from Hermione, I need at least _another_ close family friend or member of the family cheering with the crowd."

"If Harry's going to be there, Gin, then count me in as well," George assured her while helping himself to some sweets on the table.

Ginny looked at her brother and smiled, "Really? Then that'll be great!" she enthused.

"Aww...isn't this sweet? Ginny Weasley getting cozy with Harry Potter," Derek walked closer to stand behind Harry and Ginny, leering down at the two friends. "Who would've thought that silly Potter will finally notice you, huh?"

It was like a sense of déjá vu that coursed through Harry and Ginny when they heard the sneering remark that came from none other than a Slytherin student. Malfoy pretty much had the same insult whenever he saw Harry and Ginny getting cozy together, but it wasn't Malfoy this time who was hurtling insults at them; it was his copycat, Derek.

Ginny's hands fisted into a tight ball, her brown eyes suddenly ablaze with anger she never thought she'd be able to possess. She was about to mouth-off Derek, but Colin beat her to it. He was on his feet and rounded the table to stand by Derek, shoving the tall Slytherin blond hard on the shoulder.

"Go to hell, Boones, and leave us alone," he ordered.

Derek raised a mocking brown and looked down at Colin (who wasn't really at all that short considering the Gryffindor came up almost at eye-level with the Slytherin). "And who are you to Ginny, Creevey? Her blasted knight in shining armor?" he ridiculed, chortling at his own twisted sense of humour.

"And what if I am, huh? What about it?" Colin challenged.

"Don't make me laugh, Creevey. You ain't worth two shits to go defending poor damsels in distress."

"At least I _defend_ them and have enough sense not to _two-time_ my girlfriend, sneaking off someplace to play tonsil hockey with another girl, and get dumped on the spot by, not one, but _both_ girlfriends!"

Ginny knew Colin went too far by dredging up past history (more like _last year's_ history) in front of Derek. All the students at the pub, who were suddenly paying attention to the confrontation between Derek and Colin, started to laugh at the announcement. They knew Ginny dumped Derek on the spot, but none really knew the reason as to why; there were speculations about there being a third party involved, but none could really prove it unless they stood witness to the event (but the only witnesses were Colin, Janelle, Twyla, and that Ravenclaw girl Derek was smooching with).

"You did _what_ to my sister?!" Ron angrily exclaimed, banging his fisted hand down hard on the table, sending the mugs clattering against the tabletop. Even the other three Weasley brothers glared at the blond Slytherin. They knew Ginny went out with him for a while, but the true nature of them breaking up was never really revealed; Ginny just told them it was due to 'irreconcilable differences'.

Hermione turned and put a hand on Ron's arm, restraining him from getting off his seat.

Derek didn't pay attention to Ron's outburst and in flash his fist connected with Colin's jaw, sending him staggering back into Hermione who caught him. That was the final straw as far as Ginny was concerned and angrily pushed herself off her chair and gave her ex-boyfriend a resounding slap in the face. The entire pub watched the drama unfold as Derek stood there, angrier than ever at first being made fun of in public then having a girl (not just _any_ girl for that matter, but his hellion of an ex-girlfriend!) slap him.

"You bitch," he hissed, rubbing the spot where she slapped him and took a step up towards her, his arm raised to retaliate.

Five chair legs scraped against the floor as the Weasley boys and Harry all got to their feet ready to pounce on Derek if that stupid git lay a hand on Ginny.

"_Stop!_" Hermione called before the situation got worse. After Colin reassured her he was fine, Hermione set him aside and got up to her feet, standing between Derek, Harry, and Ginny. She motioned for Harry--as well as the brothers--to sit down before addressing Derek.

"You, young man, has caused enough mischief today. Detention for you. See me after dinner tonight to receive your instructions," she said, using her I'm-the-teacher-here-and-you-just-disrespected-me tone of voice of hers.

Derek raised an eyebrow and gave her a funny look, "You're kidding, right?" he mocked.

Hermione crossed her arms firmly over her chest, her chin jutted high into the air and her raised eyebrow almost hit the roof, challenging the aloof Slytherin to contest her authority.

"_Creevey_ started it," he blamed, pointing at Colin who was back in his seat once again.

"But _you_ provoked him, you stupid numbskull," Ginny retorted back.

"_Ginny!_" Hermione scolded, giving her friend a stern glare before looking back at Derek, "Nevertheless, Mr. Boones, _you_ shouldn't have punched him."

"But...but..." Derek was out of words to say back. Dammit! He got detention--again?! Hell, this wasn't his lucky year.

Draco, who had been sitting in the corner of the pub watching the whole thing unfold, decided to make his presence known when he stepped up behind Derek and addressed Hermione from over the Slytherin's shoulder.

"Professor Granger, I believe it only fair if _both_ boys received detention. Mr. Creevey shouldn't have provoked Mr. Boones, and Mr. Boones shouldn't have retaliated with his fist," he pointed out.

"But Colin was only standing up for Ginny!" argued Hermione.

"Regardless. And to think they had a teacher with them the whole time they were squabbling," Draco's gray eyes turned to tiny slits and slightly turned his head sideways, challenging Hermione for her lack of intervention before the first punch was thrown.

Hermione glared back at Draco for taking a jab at her lack of hindsight over the matter. Granted she was surprised to see quiet and friendly Colin Creevey stand up against a Slytherin that was why she was very slow to intervene.

"Professor, couldn't you just talk her out of giving _me_ detention and just give it to Creevey instead?" Derek pleaded.

Draco raised an eyebrow and looked at the audacious boy standing before him.

"Unless you want points taken off your house as well, Mr. Boones, I suggest you keep your mouth shut," he said sternly.

Derek cast a glare over his shoulder at the snarky professor. He was starting to hate this new Draco Malfoy. What happened to the _old_ Draco Malfoy who graduated from Hogwarts a year ago?

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**A/N:** well, another chapter finished. i wanted to add more but decided against it. hope you all liked it & don't forget to review. comments/suggestions are all welcome so please don't be shy to share them with me. thanks! oh yeah, and my beta seems to be busy with her schoolwork so i'm the one who's doing the double checking for mistakes in this chapter and the previous one, so if i miss something correcting something that doesn't make sense, i do beg for your pardon! :::grins:::

**Neni Potter:** well Derek has some 'issues' about him...like some inferiority case or something...or like what you said, he's just an aloof, superficial guy who always wants to come out number one in everything he does...and thanks for the compliment. it's okay whether you take up the challenge or not, it was just for fun that i suggested it since i was asked if i was going to write a sequel to my previous d/g fic. and the romance will soon start between draco & ginny soon enough :::winks:::

**xangelcrisisx:** Derek's annoying? *lol* uhm...yeah, he could be like that too :::grins:::

**Miss Marauder:** for some reason i could only picture Ginny as a beater, i dunno why....

**AmethystQueen:** thank you!

**kellyanne:** thank you for letting me keep him! and yeah, i thought that part would be funny--well, at least i aimed it to turn out to be funny *lol*

**Cheater531:** thank you for reviewing and i'm trying to update as often as i can

**Arella Hallo:** draco's acting way ooc, right? i dunno why i often make him act so ooc...guess i can't really picture him as a total baddie :::winks:::

**KeeperOfTheMoon:** whoa! can you say/write update even more?! *lol* well, here's the update!

**Loves-Kiss:** you want more? well here's more! and...uhm...tastier?! hehehehe

**Rebecca Gryffindor:** *lol* i want to make Derek both dreamy _and_ annoying. and yes, i do have a beta, but like what i already explained on my a/n she gets busy with schoolwork to check and edit out each chapter so i do the honours myself (and sometimes do a bad job at spotting mistakes! *lol*)

**Sharlene:** oooh...aren't we a bit too mean towards Derek? that was some fate you want him to have! *lol*

**Jenn:** thanks for reading my fic, and what do you think of it so far?

**Angel-Hiragizawa32:** *lol* i know what you mean...you love me coz you like the story! *lol* i wouldn't think that you love me in the sick sort of way. thanks for the compliment; i strive hard to make each chapter better than the previous one :::grins:::

**mavis:** thanks for letting me know. i know i kinda had a feeling it was moving a bit slow, but both Draco and Ginny must work out their respective feelings for each other...and also there was still Derek to consider *lol*

**SeZzA:** uhm...i'm not sure if it'll take them forever to lock lips (like in my other d/g fic), but you'll find out soon enough if they're going to kiss or not...and whose description did you like? Draco's? Snape's? Derek's? :::laughs like a maniac::: but I'll take a wild stab at this and say Draco's? :::grins and winks:::


	8. Almost Caught in the Act

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** woo-hoo! it's Friday today, you know what that means? IT'S THE WEEKEND TOMORROW & I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO WORK, yes!!! :::pumps arms rapidly::: so I think I'll have enough time to upload as much chapters as I can this weekend...well, hopefully I can :::winks:::

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**VII. Almost Caught in the Act**

Colin and Derek both served detention after their scrap at the Three Broomsticks over the weekend. Derek was happy--for a change--about serving detention with Hermione (he thought she would be more lenient than Draco) while Colin ended up with Draco. The two teachers weren't exactly lenient with their punishments to the two students. Indulging in a fist fight with another student was a serious offence that shouldn't be taken lightly.

Draco sent Derek to Filch to do whatever the caretaker seen fit for him to do. Hermione sent Colin to Hagrid to help him out with whatever task/business he had to do in the Forbidden Forest.

Both students weren't happy about the arrangement (Derek was very vocal about it while Colin remained muted in his seat beside the whining Slytherin) and it showed on their faces. Seemed like Hermione and Draco thought it would be best if they give both boys a three-weeknight (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) detention so they will fully understand that brawling was a serious offence.

Ginny felt guilty for what happened to Colin. Not only did he get punched, he also had to serve detention! All week long she did her best to apologize to Colin and tried to make it up to him by offering to do his homework for those three nights he had to be in detention.

"Don't worry about it, Gin. I don't mind serving detention with Hagrid. In fact, it was kinda more fun hanging out with him and learning about all these creatures lurking in the forest," he assured his worried friend when Ginny bargained with him to do his potions assignment during his second night of attending detention. "It's better to be stuck with Hagrid than to be stuck with Filch," he added as an afterthought.

"But I feel so guilty!" she whined, pursing her lips together and sulked in her chair, "It's all Derek's fault!"

"I know, Gin, I know," Colin patted her knee before getting up, "Well, I better report for duty to Hagrid. Don't want to miss tonight's excursion to the Forbidden Forest," he gave her a toothy grin and disappeared through the hole.

Colin's cheery mood over his detention didn't help much in lifting Ginny's mood. She felt _really_ rotten for what happened and wished Derek got points taken off as well for starting the fight.

Finally Friday came, tonight was Colin's final night of serving detention which pretty much lifted Ginny's waning spirit a bit. Ginny decided to linger a while longer after Draco dismissed his class. She wanted to ask him a few questions she wanted answered and _he_ was the only person who could.

Draco was clearing up his desk when he noticed that not all of his students cleared out of his classroom. He lifted his head up and frowned when he saw Ginny was still at her desk.

"Anything I could help you with, Weasley?"

Ginny tapped her fingers on the table for a while and waited two heart beats before replying, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"_Nice?_" he echoed, an eyebrow raised at her question. It certainly wasn't what he had in mind that she would linger around here for after class. "What are you talking about?"

Ginny rose from her seat and walked down the aisle to where his desk was, set diagonally on the right-hand side corner at the front of the room.

"C'mon now, Malfoy, you know what I'm talking about," she chided.

Draco raised an eyebrow. He was doing his best to appear cool and detached, but he couldn't stop his pulse form racing at the very nearness of her. He was doing just fine when she was at the opposite end of the room, now that she was near he couldn't help from inhaling her scent. It was an addicting scent of jasmine wafting through his nostrils; she was just too tempting for his own good.

And she was the reason why he went to Hogsmeade this past weekend. He wouldn't have gone to Hogsmeade if it hadn't been for the hopes of catching a glimpse of Ginny Weasley and watching her without anyone noticing he was doing so.

Suddenly watching Ginny Weasley from afar had become an obsession for him. Since the beginning of this term his mind had been polluted with thoughts of the red haired siren that graced his class every afternoon, sitting at the back and talking to her croonies. Snape mentioned to him her uncanniness at answering his questions in class even though she wasn't paying attention to him. He put that theory to the test just a week ago and was startled to discover that his former potions master was indeed telling the truth. She intrigued him in ways that none of the other girls he had been with ever did. Sure he made her life a living hell along with her brothers and her brother's friends, but after all that was said and done, Ginny Weasley managed to sneak in to his head at the most inopportune time.

The invisible redheaded little girl he often catch dogging after Potter, Granger, and Weasley suddenly blossomed into a very attractive young lady who got all the guys at Hogwarts drooling over her. And after the stunt she pulled Saturday at the Three Broomsticks, her popularity soared to greater heights. He has heard nothing but guys out in the hall or in his class talking about Ginny Weasley and how she gave Derek Boones a good slapping. He was proud of her too when he saw what she did. At least she learned how to stand up for herself, even if Creevey stepped up and defended her.

He never particularly liked Derek, even when they were still housemates. The boy was too full of himself all the time and it was annoying to have him around. He immensely enjoyed Ginny making a fool out of the latest labeled Slytherin heartthrob; at least he had an ally when it comes to making Derek's life a living hell.

He still hated the git for stealing the girl he liked last year, and Derek knew he fancied her...Draco gave his head a mental shake and concentrated on Ginny who was patiently waiting for his reply. Now wasn't the time to think of the 'could have beens' of his past.

"Sorry, Weasley, but I am actually at a loss here," he lied. He knew perfectly well what she was asking about, but he'd be damned if he told her why.

"Aw, come _on_, Professor. I am not blind nor am I deaf," she chided, crossing the space separating her from the front of his desk. Draco stood on the other side while Ginny on the other. She braced her hands on the edges of the desk and raised an eyebrow, "You hate and despise the Weasleys, you _loathe_ Harry and you most certainly will not, under any circumstances whatsoever, ever socialize with Hermione," she pointed out, watching his face for any indication that would tip her off the reason behind him suddenly acting very un-Draco Malfoy like.

"So?" Draco tried to appear nonchalant.

Ginny leaned forward over his desk, smirking as her brown eyes clashed with his gray ones. "You are not known for favouring Gryffindors nor were you known for befriending Muggle-borns, so what gives?"

"Nothing," he stated firmly, resuming to shuffling some of the parchments cluttering his desktop.

Ginny placed a hand on top of the parchment he was fixing, stopping what he was doing and willed him to look back at her.

"I _don't_ believe you, Malfoy."

Draco looked at the hand she placed on top of the notes he prepared for class, his gray eyes slowly moving up the creamy white skin of her hand to her arm, then his gaze slid over her shoulder before once again resting on her cute, freckled, elfin-like face.

"Just drop it, Weasley. I don't know what you're talking about," he pulled the parchments from underneath her hand and stuffed them in his expensive black leather case.

Ginny pulled her hand back and crossed her arms firmly over her ample-sized chest. Jutting her chin into the air, she looked down her nose at Draco Malfoy. Damn. Why does he have to be so gorgeous and infuriating at the same time? And was that aftershave he was wearing? It had a musky, male scent to it that was permanently making its mark in her nostrils.

Draco pretended to busy himself with filing his notes into his case whilst watching Ginny from the corner of his eye. She was still standing way too close for comfort and he wanted her to step away. Now.

Ginny sensed Draco's discomfort and couldn't help herself from raising an eyebrow. Was she making her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher uncomfortable? Her forehead knitted into a frown. _How?_

"Am I scaring you, Professor?" she questioned, an eyebrow raised as she watched Draco close his case and place it down on the desk.

Draco lifted his head and looked at her, "Scare me, Weasley?" he chuckled, "Why ever would I be scared of _you?_" he tried to sneer, but it lacked its usual effect as he watched the brazen redhead walk around his desk to stand right beside him.

"I don't know exactly, but somehow I get this vibe that you _are_ scared of me, Malfoy," she replied, cocking her head to the side and letting some of her shiny red locks tumble down to the side.

Draco turned and faced her, taking a small step up closer to her until Ginny was left with no choice but to pull her head all the way back so she could meet his gaze. He flattened his hand on top of his case while the other rested on his hip, an eyebrow raised as he held Ginny's brown gaze.

"And _what_ kind of vibes are you getting, Weasley?" he challenged, leaning down until their noses were almost touching.

Ginny took in a deep breath at his bold action. Having him stand this close to her, his lips just mere inches from hers and if she stood on tiptoes she would be able to place hers against his.

_Whaaaaat?!_ a voice at the back of her head shrieked, _Ginny dear, you're not really thinking of kissing Draco Malfoy, are you?_

But Ginny didn't seemed fazed about where her thoughts led her. In fact she was more intrigued about the prospect of kissing Draco Malfoy just for the heck of it. In all her years at Hogwarts she has heard rumours about him being a good kisser, and if he kissed as good as his tush looked, then she'd believe every damn rumours spread about him from here onwards!

Draco knew he was playing with fire, closing the distance between him and Ginny and having his face hover just a few inches from hers. She smelled deliciously of sin and he'd be damned if his libido took over him and do to her what he had been wanting to do for a long while now. She still hadn't answered him. Does that mean he had the same effect on her as she obviously does to him?

"What kind of vibes, Weasley?" he repeated again, his head moving slowly lower still until his lips was just a breath away from hers.

Ginny's pulse raced even faster. Was he or wasn't he going to kiss her? His lips was oh so temptingly hovering just above hers, his gray eyes fixed on her brown ones. His head was ascending quite a bit fast now and Ginny knew she must do something. She can't be snogging with her professor (even if she wanted to) in a classroom in broad daylight! 

"Professor mind if..._whoa!_"

Both Ginny and Draco sprang apart from each other at the sound of Derek's voice at the doorway of the open classroom door. Draco was the first to look away from Ginny and addressed his unexpected visitor who stood rooted at the doorway.

"Yes, Mr. Boones?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow. He felt Ginny move away from his side and rounded the table to stand on the other side.

"Uh..." Derek's blue eyes darted from the cool and composed face of his Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to his red-faced ex-girlfriend then back to his professor once again, "Uhm...I was just wondering if I could ask if I may be excused from tonight's detention because I have to practice with the rest of the team," he tried not to sound bothered by what he just walked in on, but he couldn't help from darting a look back and forth between Draco and Ginny.

"Shouldn't you be asking Professor Granger about that since _she's_ the one who gave you the detention?" Draco questioned.

"I just went to her classroom, but she wasn't there. I don't know where she went so I came back here to talk to _you_ since both you and Gran--er, _Professor_ Granger were aware of my detention," he shrugged.

"I'll talk to Professor Granger then and we'll let you know what she said after dinner," he agreed, "Now is that all?"

Derek was still watching him and Ginny, a gleam in his eyes told Draco his student was formulating some very wild assumptions about what he just walked in to. He didn't like it. Not even one bit. He would have to quash it before it even began, but he wouldn't address Derek about it when Ginny was still around; the girl was embarrassed enough about what _almost_ happened if it hadn't been for Derek walking in when he did.

"Mr. Boones?" Draco called out when the blond Slytherin hadn't given him an answer yet.

"Uh...no, Professor. That's everything. Thanks. I'll just see you after dinner," he nodded and was out of the door in a flash.

Ginny waited until Derek has cleared the doorway before excusing herself from Draco. What the hell was she thinking? _No, you weren't thinking, Virginia, that's what,_ her conscience scolded her.

"I think I better go to, Professor. And just to let you know, Slytherin doesn't have practice tonight. Gryffindor booked the pitch for eight o'clock so we could put in some last-minute practice for tomorrow's game. I think Slytherin's new golden boy just wanted to get out of his last night of detention," she told him before walking back to her desk to grab her book bag.

"Weasley," he called before she could take more than a couple of steps away.

Ginny stopped and looked over her shoulder. She met his eyes and read the question written there. She quirked her upper left lip and shrugged, "Nothing happened, Malfoy. What Derek saw and what he had concocted in his mind was far from what actually happened."

"But that won't stop him from telling others about it," he pointed out.

"So? It's not as if I haven't been the butt of every other rumour that circulated around Hogwarts since my unforgettable first-year stunt with Tom Riddle's diary."

Draco made a sour face at her. He remembered that awful experience of hers back in his second year. His father sneakily stuffed that blasted diary along with the rest of her belonging during that unforgettable encounter at Flourish and Blotts. She nearly died because of what his damn father did. He couldn't forgive Lucius for what he did, but that was all in the past now and Ginny was still alive and safe standing before him. She also grew up after that. She was meek and quiet a couple of years after that, but after his fifth year he noticed the considerable change in the youngest Weasley offspring.

"But if those rumours circulated...it's not really _proper_ for a student and teacher to be caught kissing in a classroom, you know?" he pointed out with a smirk.

"Then talk to the headmaster and explain to him _exactly_ what happened. I'm sure he'll be more understanding if you came clean to him," she suggested and without waiting for him to add more, she quickly walked towards her desk, scooped up her bag and walked out the door.

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**A/N:** okay...well, I meant to post this up by Friday afternoon, but a lot happened yesterday (my sister called me up and asked me to pick her up from school because she wasn't feeling well then by the time I got home I was too tired and fell asleep--didn't wake up until like 10pm!!!). anyway, i almost couldn't go on with this chapter because i was caught between writer's block and the idea for the next chapter--i couldn't think of what to write for _this_ chapter and i needed to get it out before i start on the next chapter. anyways, like what i said in my previous notes, suggestions/comments are always welcome, so please feel free to let me know--_honestly_--what you think, aight? thanks!

**Faltering Hues:** oohh...he mite not make it back alive? :::wonders::: whacha gonna do to Derek then? kill him? make him your slave or what? and don't worry, i'll talk to Draco and ask him if he wants to go vacation with you or with me and you'll know the answer next time :::winks:::

**meg:** oooh...sexual tension that's not for the dirty mind?! :::laughs::: uhm...was there enough sexual tension here???

**Miss Marauder:** yep, i think it's high time Colin gets to be a man and stand up for his friends and stuff :::winks:::

**Jade Stellar:** i can't wait for a good snog between those two as well, but i just don't know _when_ they'll snog

**Crystal:** Draco's a bit nosy? how???

**txt-eva:** thanks! and yep, since he's out of school now and a teacher he's bound to act differently

**SeZzA:** i'm having fun writing about him being both fair and still have some of his old self within him...it just wouldn't be all fun if he completely changes...or maybe...it _will be_ fun if he's changed completely...oh i dunno :-/

**butterfly kisses:** well i'll certainly check it out as soon as i get this posted! :::grins:::

**Adria:** thanks for liking that part. i loved that scene too and i had it all planned out in my head and was sooo excited to write/type it coz...well, it's kinda gangsta-like, ya know?

**DaRkShAdOwS:** i'm sorry! you know i'd answer your question if ever i do come across it (which i haven't). i dont recall reading you posting a question in your review. i didn't mean to offend you. see, i'm answering you right now...although i am not addressing your question since i don't know _what_ is it that you asked. again i'm sorry and hope you enjoy this chapter too :::smiles sheepishly:::

**MelissaAdams:** hehehe, thanks for liking the chappies

**kellyanne:** ooohhh....a house elf named Draco? uhm...i betcha it's cute then :::laughs::: and of course the Weasleys gotta make a grand entrance! :::winks:::

**Jenn:** well here's the next chapter. and i enjoyed Draco taking points off Slytherin like he was taking candy from a baby :::laughs::: there's some unknown pleasure to it :::winks:::

**Sharlene:** yep, you _were_ a bit harsh. but don't hate Derek 'coz he's beautiful :::gags::: okay...i think that was uncalled for *LOL*

**Arella Hallo:** thank you so much! hehehehe, and yeah, it's nice to have a baddie Draco every once in a while, but it's also fun to write a not-so-baddie-but-still-acts-like-one-every-now-and-then Draco :::winks:::

**hasapi:** thanks! if you're grinning at the end of last chappie then this story must be going somewhere really good for a change! *lol*

**mavis:** you can call me either...if my pen name's too long for you then you can just stick to calling/writing Leen :::smiles::: yeah, i almost forgot that Hermione was a teacher too, and sometimes while writing this fic I even forget that Draco's a teacher as well *LOL* Derek's gonna be punished again...and again...and again... *LOL* as for student/teacher relationship...i don't think it's allowed either, but oh well :::grins::: ginny's graduating so i think they can indulge in a bit of an affair, hehehehe

**Starry:** thanks!

**Beccs:** thank you! thank you!

**karly:** i did send you emails, but i keep on getting a message saying your inbox was full :::pouts::: so it doesn't always go through

**Dracos gal:** *lol* don't worry, i won't be stalking you

**Xela:** oh please don't envy Ginny! *lol* and i'll try to get as much RUMP-SLAPPING as i can in the next few chappies :::winks:::


	9. Payback's a Bitch

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** for some odd reason i'm so excited about this chapter...so without further ado, here it is! and, oh yeah! the rambunctious Weasley boys makes another appearance...i sure hope you guys have a blast reading about their escapades here as i did writing about it! :::laughs and winks:::

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**VIX. Payback's a Bitch**

Rumours about a certain teacher fancying a certain student (no names were given, to Ginny's delight and Draco's relief) spread all over campus by Saturday morning as everyone congregated in the Great Hall for breakfast. Ginny walked in to the Great Hall with her ears perked up and straining to hear whatever the other person was talking about. She caught one Hufflepuff seventh year mention her name.

"It's that redhead girl Ginny. Hell, have you seen her lately? Changed an awful lot over the summer!" exclaimed the Hufflepuff proudly.

"But who could the teacher be?" inquired the Hufflepuff girl's companion.

"Must be one of the new teachers. After all, the three new male teachers looked awfully young--younger than most teachers we have here," shared the first girl.

"Oh," nodded her companion as they both walked off towards their table.

Ginny couldn't help herself from blushing a deep shade of scarlet by the time she reached their table. She squeezed in between Janelle and Twyla who were also gossiping about the latest rumour circulating around school. She merely rolled her eyes at her friends before helping herself to some pancakes and juice.

"Hey Gin, heard about that rumour circulating about in school?" Colin asked after she sat down.

"Yeah. What about it?" she refused to meet her friend's gaze who was looking at her rather intently from across the table. Dammit! If Colin wouldn't stop looking at her, her face would turn into a full-out red blob of whatever!

Colin quirked an eyebrow when the noticed to pinkish stains on her cheekbones, "_You_ are the number one contender for the girl this certain teacher is fancying, Gin. Did you know that?"

Ginny delayed answering him by pouring tons of maple syrup on her pancakes, slapping a slob of butter on top and spread it over it. She then went on slicing the pancakes to her liking and by the time she looked up at Colin, her friend was almost choking her for delaying her reply.

"What?" she asked innocently and stuffed her mouth with a quarter piece of the pancake she just sliced.

Colin nearly strangled her. She took her time answering and now she wanted to know _what_ he was looking at her for. Sometimes Ginny Weasley could be _very_ exasperating it wasn't even funny anymore. It was annoying and...well, he still loved her to bits but sometimes a bloke can only take enough!

"Whatever, Weasley," he shook his head and continued eating.

Ginny grinned. She honestly didn't want to dwell too much on the rumours circulating right now. Of course she knew she was one of the many other girls to be linked to one of the three new teachers, wasn't that conversation she walked in on just a few minutes ago enough confirmation that _she_ was a candidate?

She discreetly glanced over at the teacher's table and noticed Draco in deep conversation with Hermione (again). She couldn't quite figure out what they were talking about, but she noticed Hermione kept on glancing at the Gryffindor table whilst Draco kept on telling her something. Ginny noticed the worried look etched on her friend's face.

What the hell was going on? And do they have to talk with their heads so close to each other like that? Hermione's hand kept on touching Draco's arm, patting it as she gave him some advice or whatever she was telling him, and it was annoying Ginny to watch her friend get oh so cozy with him!

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"Ready, Weasley?" Twyla asked once they were all done gearing up for the upcoming game in less than five minutes.

Ginny looked up after lacing her arm-wristband up and nodded, "All set here, captain," she winked.

"Good," she smiled and started pacing around the Gryffindor change room. She was all pumped up for this afternoon's match and the cheer of the gathering crowd outside was enough to set Twyla's nerves on edge. She was desperately trying to hard to be as best as Harry and Oliver was when they were captains of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, but Ginny knew Twyla already was the best at being herself without having to follow in her predecessors' footsteps. "Now, gather around everyone and listen," she paused and watched the rest of her teammates--Janelle (new chaser), Aaron Sommers (beater), Clyde Drake (chaser), Anton Slylyc (new chaser), Ginny (new beater), and Mimi Hart (new seeker)--gather around and looked at her.

"Alright. Now I don't want to put any pressure on you guys considering _this_ is our first match of the season, but let me just warn you, we're playing against Slytherin for our first match--they're a dirty, devious lot and playing against them would be like battling hoards of Blast Ended Skrewt," she paused and watched the faces of her teammates; they got what she meant. She resumed pacing back and forth again, her hands clasped behind her as she droned on and on about what she expected of her teammates. She ended their small pep-talk with a jolly, "Let's kick their arses to the next millennium!" before storming out of the changing rooms and on to the pitch where the entire school was watching.

Ginny looked around in awe at the cheering crowd gathered out there. Even the headmaster was out there watching the game. She knew from past experience that Gryffindor and Slytherin matches are often the most watched considering they were forever head-to-head rivals from way back when. Up on the teachers' box she caught a glimpse of Hermione waving a scarlet flag that was magicked to have the words GO GINNY, GO! appear then disappear every two seconds--and it also appeared in different colours! She smiled inwardly at that. She knew Hermione shouldn't be taking sides since she was a teacher, but a true Gryffindor at heart, she couldn't help but side with her former house team.

She strained her eyes a bit and saw Harry seated beside Hermione, waving a similar flag but instead of the cheer on Hermione's flag, his said GRYFFINDOR KICKS SLYTHERIN @$$!

Ginny chuckled when she finally was able to read what it said on the flag and looked over at Janelle to motion for her to look at the teachers' box where a couple of flags were being waved back and forth. Janelle lifted her gaze to one of the watch towers and couldn't control herself from snickering. By then every one on the team was wondering what was wrong with their chaser. Ginny pointed their attention to the direction of where Harry sat beside Hermione, waving their flags. Soon the whole team erupted in uncontrolled laughter before sending Harry two thumbs-up for the flag.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle and asked all fourteen players to come forward. She gave them very stern instructions, warning them that she wanted a fair game this afternoon before telling them to mount their brooms and soar high into the air. After a couple of seconds she released the Quaffle which was caught by Clyde. It was soon followed by the Bludgers and the Snitch.

"AND THE GAME IS ON!" boomed George Weasley's over the enchanted megaphone handed to him by Professor Mcgonagall, who was seated beside him, before the start of the game. He was asked to sit in as guest commentator this afternoon while the regular assigned commentator recover from laryngitis. "GRYFFINDOR HAS THE QUAFFLE...WEASLEY AND SOMMERS ARE HITTING THOSE DAMN--ER _DARN_ BLUDGERS WITH ALL THEIR--_OH!_ LUCKY SLYTHERIN NUMBSKULL MISSED BY WEASLEY'S CAREENING BLUDGER..."

"_WEASLEY!_" Professor McGonagall yelled into his ear, "WHEN I ASKED YOU TO GUEST COMMENTATE FOR US THIS AFTERNOON I DIDN'T ASK ANY SIDE COMMENTS FROM THE COMMENTATOR!" she scolded.

"WHOOPS! SORRY PROFESSOR, BUT I CAN'T HELP...OKAY, OKAY," George raised his hands as if to fend himself off from McGonagall's deadly glare, "I'LL STICK WITH WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE GAME!" he gazed back at ongoing battle between Slytherin and Gryffindor, his heart in his throat as he watched Ginny and Aaron hit bludgers here and there, sending those two black balls over towards the Slytherin players.

Ginny was keeping a close eye on the flying bludgers, watching the two Slytherin beaters--Sonya Gleason and Dana Joyce--just in case they decided to pull a fast one on Gryffindor. She was hovering over the other players, her eyes fixed on the bludgers. For two female beaters, Sonya and Dana sure could hit those black balls as hard as any guy could!

"WHOA! LOOK AT THE ARM OF THAT SLYTHERIN CHICK! GLEASON SENT THE BLUDGER CAREENING TOWARDS SLYLYC, SLIGHTLY MAKING THE NEWBIE GRYFFINDOR CHASER OFF-BALANCE...ATTA BOY, ANTON! STAY ON THAT DAMN BROOMSTICK!" cheered George who was having a blast commentating while McGonagall sat beside him, her lips pursed and her face looking like it was about to explode.

Hermione sat closer to Harry, her hand laced with his as they watched the tight match between the two teams. Neither one of the house teams scored yet, but Damon O'Connor from Slytherin has the Quaffle right now and was flying almost in light speed towards the the Gryffindor goal posts. His other teammates cleared the area for him and he made the shot, Twyla was at her element and maneuvered her broomstick and hit the Qauffle with the end of it, sending the football-like ball towards one of her teammates.

"_OH!_ DE-NIED! GREAT SAVE, TWYLA!" George squealed, clapping his hands soundly, "I'M SURE PERCY WILL APPRECIATE THAT A GIRL KNOWS _HOW_ TO DENY A MAN WHEN SHE DOESN'T WANT HIM TO GET SOME! RIGHT, PERCE?"

"GEORGE WEASLEY!" Professor McGonagall and Percy yelled at their wacky commentator.

Ron and Fred had to restrain their older brother from storming towards the commentator's box where George was and beat their brother to a pulp. The entire pitch erupted in uncontrollable laughter at George's comment. McGonagall was waving her finger at George, scolding one of her former students for his blunt side remarks.

Draco joined Hermione and the others at the teacher's box and took his place on Hermione's other side, raising an eyebrow when he saw her fingers laced with Potter's. He gave a knowing smirk and looked at the players zooming here and there before them. He was enjoying George Weasley's commentating; he still hasn't lost his touch of stirring up trouble even after all these years. McGonagall sure was having a helluva hard time toning the loud Weasley twin down.

"Did I miss anything yet?" he asked Hermione.

"Nothing much. Both houses are still at zero. George, on the other hand, is keeping the crowd so much entertained. Did you hear that crack he made about Percy and Twyla?" she giggled, her eyes not leaving the players mounted on their broomsticks.

"Yeah, I heard," he nodded and glanced over to Harry's side where Fred and Ron were holding an infuriated, red-faced Percy, "Percy looks like he was about to explode. And Twyla," he looked over at the Gryffindor goal post, borrowing Hermione's binoculars he found that the Gryffindor keeper and captain was as red-faced as Percy Weasley was. Draco chuckled and returned the binoculars back at his colleague, "She's as embarrassed as Weasley's brother."

Hermione chuckled and nodded her agreement. She knew Ginny's friend would be extremely embarrassed. After all, George just announced to the entire school that the Gryffindor keeper had a big-ass crush on the former Gryffindor Prefect and Head Boy, not to mention her best friend's older brother.

In spite of George's rowdy comments, the match continued with Gryffindor finally making a goal after the Slytherin keeper, Olive West, was thrown into fits of giggle after hearing what George just said about Twyla liking Percy Weasley. The crowd went wild as Gryffindor made the first score of the day.

Two and a half hours later into the match, the game was still a tight one with Gryffindor ahead ten points than Slytherin (Gryffindor 80 and Slytherin 70). Seekers Mimi and Derek were both on the look out for the blasted Snitch who has made quite a number of appearance the whole time the game was on, but neither seekers could catch it before it disappeared again. Derek was being his normal, sneaky self, tailing Mimi every time the Gryffindor seeker caught sight of the snitch.

Ginny was busy standing guard against those damn bludgers, making sure none of it hits her teammates. She and Aaron sure made a good team. They know exactly when to be in sync with each other's movements. It was a pretty good match and Mimi sure was kicking Derek's lousy arse at spotting the snitch; the git decided to let Mimi do all the looking and watching-out while he just hovered nearby watching _her_ spot the snitch.

"Loser," Ginny hissed under her breath when she saw Derek keeping a close watch on Mimi while her teammate was on the look out for the Golden Snitch.

The game was being played as brutally dirty as it could be, with George providing some of its lighter moments by making snide comments about each team player, vexing Professor McGonagall and allowing the rest of the student body to have a good laugh without having to kill each other for such a dirty match. Slythern kept on nudging, kicking, cutting Gryffindor players off. There was even one penalty during the game's first half hour when Robbie Easther, one of the Slytherin chasers, pulled a Marcus Flint on Twyla; snatching a club from one of his beaters and sent the bludger towards the unsuspecting Gryffindor keeper, but thanks to George's keen eye he quickly alerted the Gryffindor keeper who escaped with a minor bludger-scraping the tail-end of her broomstick.

It was a tensed match. The crowd kept on cheering them on still while Ginny's arm was starting to ache. She didn't expect her first match to be this long! They were gunning for three hours already and where the hell was that damn snitch?

As if on cue Ginny spotted a spec of gold flash before her. Damn, the snitch was too damn high from where Mimi and Derek were, and she doesn't want to shout it down to her teammate and alert that stupid prat who wasn't doing much work except to tail Mimi every where she went!

"_Aaron!_" she called out to her teammate and waved him over.

"Yeah?" asked Aaron, a brown-haired boy with green eyes that reminded Ginny so much of Harry (minus the specs), pulled up beside her.

"I saw the snitch, but I doubt Mimi saw it 'coz she was too busy keeping Derek busy by sending him on a wild goose chase," she pointed down at the two seekers just a few feet below them, "Would you be able to hold the fort up here while I swoop down there and tell Mimi exactly where the snitch is? I can't wait to get this game over and done with."

Aaron grinned and nodded. He too was starting to get tired playing the game and getting their arses nearly kicked off by Slytherins who wanted to score, but Twyla was a very good keeper and often blocked their attempts at scoring a goal. Ginny flew down to where Mimi was and whistled to her teammate to get her attention. With a few mastered eye-to-eye conversation (Twyla told them during one of their numerous practices that it would be better if they each learned a secret sign language to use to address another team member without letting the opposing team members know what they were talking about), Mimi nodded and waited a while until Ginny signaled for Aaron to hit one of the bludgers her way so she could send the black ball careening towards Derek--slowing him down while Mimi flew after the snitch.

It all happened in a flash. One moment Ginny hit the bludger at Derek's direction and Mimi made her escape. The snitch wasn't hovering any farther above from where the three players were at.

"HEY! I THINK SHE'S SPOTTED THE SNITCH!" bellowed George excitedly as he kept a close eye on the Gryffindor seeker speeding up to where Ginny pointed the snitch was hovering by, "GO, MIMI! GO! SNATCH THAT SUCKER AND END THIS GAME!" he kept on cheering.

Meanwhile Derek was caught off-guard when Ginny's bludger nicked the tail-end of his broomstick. He wobbled a bit and hung on for dear life. He threw his head up and caught sight of Ginny laughing at him. He snarled and turned around to attack the redhead Gryffindor beater, ignoring that Mimi was gaining on the snitch.

Ginny--and the rest of the people watching--didn't have time to react as Derek swooped up beside her, snatched the club in her hand and smacked the side of her head. The crowd gasped at the uncalled move by the Slytherin seeker.

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! THAT'S MY SISTER YOU JUST HIT, YOU SISSY!" George was to the roof, having witnessed what the Slytherin blond did to Ginny.

Professor McGonagall didn't have time to reprimand George for his choice of language. She was off her seat and leaning against the balustrade as she watched in horror what happened to her house team's beater.

Derek ignored the boos he received from the crowd as he sped up to Mimi. He wouldn't dare let that Gryffindor git catch the snitch before him.

Ginny's head started to spin. Derek wasn't gentlemanly at all with his action. He hit her so damn hard she thought she was seeing stars! She couldn't keep her hands on the handle of her Firebolt. Everything was starting to look like a haze to her and she couldn't keep her balance any longer. She could still hear the crowd roaring, but she doesn't know what they were roaring about.

And then it happened.

Ginny desperately made a grab for the handle of her Firebolt one last time in the hopes of quelling her sudden bout with nausea, but she missed her mark and fell off her broomstick.

"_Ginny!_" cried Hermione and let go of Harry's hand as she rose to her feet along with Harry and the other three Weasley brothers with her at the teacher's box.

Draco was off his seat too and let out a slew of curses at what he saw. He whipped out his wand from his robe in a flash and spoke a few words and aimed his wand at the falling Ginny's direction. The spell he used must've worked for Ginny looked like she was falling in slow motion. That gave Draco, Hermione, Harry, and the three Weasley brothers ample time to run down the teacher's box and on to the pitch.

He stopped right beneath Ginny's limp body and caught the redhead safely in his arms before the crowd erupted in cheers, but Draco didn't have time to see if it was because Ginny was safely rescued or if either one of the two seekers caught the snitch. Even George's loud yelling was drowned out. He was only concentrating on the unconscious girl in his arms.

"You're going to be alright, Gin, I promise," he whispered and bestowed an affectionate kiss on her forehead.

Ginny stirred slightly in his arms, but she didn't open her eyes. Hermione and the rest of them, including McGonagall and quite a few other teachers, followed close behind.

"Is she alright?" Hermione asked worriedly, placing her hand on Draco's arm as soon as she drew up beside him.

"Out of our way!" yelled Fred, Ron, and Percy who were elbowing worried students and teachers who gathered around Draco and Ginny. George wasn't far behind his brothers and Harry.

"How is she?" Percy asked as soon as he was beside Draco. He looked down at his sister's limp body and uttered a slew of curses that no one knew he was aware of.

"Let's take her to the hospital wing," announced Draco and elbowed his way through the throng of people that gathered around them. Percy was behind him followed by the others.

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**A/N:** _phew!_ finally, i'm finished with this chapter! it took me an entire day just to get this done! i was having a hard time finishing it, but i already knew what was going to happen it's just that i encountered some problems on _how_ i'm gonna get to what happened. anyway, hope you enjoyed reading this as much as i enjoyed typing/writing this--especially George doing the commentating.

**Angel-Hiragizawa32:** hmm...i'm anticipating it too _when_ they're going to get together! *LOL* and yeah, i am so totally on a roll...yippeee!!!

**Miss Marauder:** *lol* well there _are_ some bad chapters when i dunno half of what i'm talking about! :p

**Faltering Hues:** hehehe, well you can certainly keep Derek as your slave, it's just that i dunno what kinda slave he'll be to you...as for the twins...sure, you can take them with you! just make sure that you don't tire 'em out coz i still wanna enjoy 'em :::winks::: they're just so fun to be around with!

**meg:** i _love_ Alias! and the vaughn and sydney pairing is sooo full of sexual tension that my sister and i are practically yelling at the TV screen too for them to get it on! :::grins::: and...well, there's got to be quite a lot of 'tension' between Draco & Ginny simply because of their situation right now :::winks:::

**izzy:** hmm...well i think i made some hints in _this_ chappie as to whose the lucky guy who caught Hermione's fancy :::winks::: and yeah, Ginny should've kissed Draco, but then Derek's timing was just plain ol' awful! *lol*

**KeeperOfTheMoon:** like you, i was also excited to write about the Quidditch match...and...uhm...so here's the match! *lol* whaddya think?

**Sharlene:** yep, Derek just plain ol' ruins everything!

**Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey:** yep, can't really have them making out so fast now, can i? and i just read your chapter two...i am beginning to love 'juli' and rizza *lol*

**karly:** i know i saw you online and spoke to you online like a couple of hours back, finally i'm done with the chapter! hehehe, took me quite a while, i hope this one's a good one

**charismatic:** oh Derek will definitely get in to a whole lotta trouble after the stunt he pulled in _this_ chappie :::grins::: and i try my best to update as often as i can...once i ran out of ideas for the next chapter i just stop and don't update for like weeks!!!

**MYSTIQUE:** thank you so much! that mean a lot to me! hehehe, my writing's improved since _Mission_ which is great! hehehe, at least i'm making progress here, aren't i? :::winks::: and speaking of their sexual tension...well, just gotta have lotsa those between them considering the predicament they're in

**Jenn:** seems like you don't have to wait too long for the next chapter 'coz here it is now :::smiles::: hope you like, you like, you like again *lol*

**skara:** hmm...that's the million dollar question, my dear! *lol* i myself am not sure just _when_ they will get together, but stay tuned to find out exactly _when_...

**hasapi:** *lol* it's okay to see you getting carried away. that tells me that what happened kinda got to you one way or the other :::winks::: and did Draco took heed to what Ginny advised him to do and spoke with Dumbledore about it? hmm...we'll just have to wait and see....

**sassw14:** i don't think student/teacher relationships are allowed at Hogwarts. and the sneaking around part sounds really good...hehehe, but first they _must_ admit they like each other before they get to sneaking off to meet somewhere

**Crystal:** well what can we do about that? *lol* he's Draco...need i say more? ::grins::

**happy kid:** thank you so much, and i'm trying to update as often as i can

**DaRkShAdOwS:** what's stopping them i guess is the rumours about them getting together. ya know some people doesn't really approve of student/teacher relationships--even if they're just a year apart...and if i get them to admit it right away then i won't have fun writing about more chapters about 'em and the happenings around them :::grins:::

**Junebug:** no problem about the email, and thanks for liking the plot. i know student/teacher fics had been done numerous times so my basis for this story wasn't really _that_ original, hehehehe

**Starry:** well considering that Draco's not acting very Draco-like in this fic...I think Ginny trusts him to tell Dumbledore the truth

**SeZzA:** of course they've got to have some spoilers before they could actually enjoy their first kiss! *lol*

**demented weesil:** i am updating as QUICKISHLIKE (damn! i just love that term! hehehehe) as i possibly can. and thanks for liking my Draco. i am doing my best to make him act different and yet still retain some of his usual self, ya know what i'm saying?

**G. Zan:** i know what you mean, but then in the book Draco's more...uhm...meaner? than my Draco in this fic *lol* besides, i just don't want him to be all snarly and insulting towards Hermione, after all they're both teachers now, right?

**xangfelcrisisx:** you wanted what to happen? them kissing or them _almost_ kissing? hehehehe

**August:** thank you so much! seems like quite a few reviewers are liking _this_ Draco i have here, hehehehe

**Vixen:** i've been asked this numerous times (and i'm not really complaining). Draco & Ginny will soon kiss...I'm just not sure how many chapters will pass _before_ they could actually do the deed. and thanks for saying this is one of the funniest D/G stories you've read, i aim for this fic to be funny and i'm glad i did make it funny

**Xela:** *lol* hmm...i think a another 'near-kiss' could be arranged...but as for the 'real kiss'...hmmm..... :::thinks about when it will occur:::

**Anyanka:** well i have been called 'evil' & 'mean' by other reviewers in some of my other fics, hehehehe, and yep, i had an R-rated version of the previous chapter's almost kiss (i think Draco's desk will play a much bigger role for what i had in mind *lol*) anyway, mind out of the gutter now, yeah, i think you can have Draco just as long as you return him back to me (and Ginny) in mint condition, hehehehe

**Jade Stellar:** Derek's a first class jerk...and Draco & Ginny will soon get to some serious snoggin' later on

**Laura:** thanks! (",)

**Arella Hallo:** yep, you got that right :::grins::: you'll just have to wait like Draco & Ginny will have to wait when they could finally kiss

**MelissaAdams:** i'm working on it! *lol* actually, here's the next chapter :p

**butterfly kisses:** oooh, since your ex's name was Derek then you _really_ have a big problem with the Derek in this fic *lol* and yeah, i do have a beta reader, but she's busy with schoolwork at the moment so i'm left to beta my own work...but i sure won't mind you becoming my beta :::smiles:::

**Dracos gal:** damn Derek Boones to hell all right! *lol*


	10. You Saved Me

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** okay...i think i went a bit too far in my previous chappie with Derek outright hitting Ginny...anyways...there was Draco to the rescue! :::laughs:::

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**X. ****You Saved Me**

Ron, Fred, George, Percy, and Harry all kept a silent vigil by Ginny's bedside. Madam Pomfrey was having a hard time shooing them out of the hospital wing, even Hermione stayed with her friends and kept on asking Madam Pomfrey how Ginny was doing. Draco remained in the hospital wing as well, but he kept his distance from the small group clustered around Ginny's bed.

He already spoke with Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House, and assured her Ginny was already stabled but she has yet to regain consciousness. Madam Pomfrey was kind enough to share with him her findings of Ginny's current condition. Professor McGonagall seemed relieved to hear that Ginny was doing fine.

"You will alert me when she regains consciousness, won't you Draco?" Minerva McGonagall asked hopefully, but she couldn't hide the worry from her tone, keeping her eyes fixed on the petite girl lying lifeless on the hospital bed surrounded by her family and friends.

"Of course, Professor," he nodded, "But Hermione will be staying with Ginny for a while, I'm sure she'll be able to do that for you."

"I know, Draco, I know," she patted him on the shoulder, she was so worried over Ginny's safety (that was quite a blow she received to the head and it wasn't to be taken lightly) that she couldn't think straight. "I'm just...I don't know what to say to her parents. I'm glad her brothers were here. At least _they_ will be able to explain exactly what happened to their parents."

Draco could only nod. He pictured Molly Weasley's face in his mind. She was a good woman. Warm and friendly (from what he saw of her whenever she picked up her children at Kings Cross) even to those who weren't family members. Potter and Granger were lucky to receive the warmth the woman radiated. Draco knew Molly Weasley would be crushed with worry when she finds out what happened to her only daughter. Even Arthur Weasley would be under the same funk as his wife would be.

His fists clenched tightly, picturing in his mind his clenched fist connecting with Derek's jaw. The stupid prat was lucky he didn't come face to face with him after the match (McGonagall and Snape nearly yanked him off his broomstick while he was rushing Ginny to the hospital wing) or he would be sporting a nice shiner just about everywhere Draco's clenched fist connected with!

"How's Boones doing?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Oh, he's hearing quite a sermon from Severus as we speak," Professor McGonagall sighed, tearing her gaze from Ginny's hospital bed and looked at one of her former students, "It's a good thing one of us had a clear head when Ms. Weasley fell off her broomstick. Granted we were all too stunned at what just happened to have thought of what to do right away."

"It's nothing, really, Professor. Call it quick reflexes," Draco didn't want to take credit for saving Ginny's life. He did what he had to do to save her, not earn hero points.

"Well, call it what you like, Professor Malfoy, you _still_ saved her life and we are all very glad," she cast a quick glance at the four red-haired brothers hovering by Ginny's bedside and the dark haired boy who was sitting beside one of the newest teachers, comforting her and whispering something to quell the shaken Arithmancy teacher. "I'm sure they're all grateful for what you did, Draco. They're still in shock right now, but I know they are forever thankful for what you did to save Ms. Weasley."

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Hermione felt someone tap him on the shoulder. She lifted her head up and looked over her shoulder and found Draco standing there, holding a plate of food and offered it to her.

"You didn't show up for dinner and I know you're going to be really hungry," he said as he shoved the plate to her.

"I'm not really hungry, Malfoy," she pushed the plate back at him, but Draco wouldn't hear any of it.

"_Eat_, Granger," he ordered and grabbed her hand, placed it on the edge of the plate he was offering and pushed it back to her. "The Weasleys and Potter already left two hours ago. You don't want to occupy the bed next to Weasley now, do you?" he tried to make do with jokes to ease the tension in the air, and he succeed--a bit anyway.

Hermione smiled and accepted the plate of food he offered her.

"I can't eat it here. Madam Pomfrey will have a fit!"

"Then go to your room and eat it there. You need to take a rest, Granger. You've been by Weasley's side since we brought her in here hours ago," he pointed out matter-of-factly.

Hermione was tempted to take Draco's offer, but she cast a worried look on Ginny's lifeless form lying on the bed. She wanted to be there in case she woke up and wouldn't know where she was. Draco followed Hermione's gaze and understood her hesitation.

"I'll stay with her," he offered, surprising both him and Hermione at his suggestion.

"Did--did I just hear you right, Malfoy?" she couldn't help herself from sounding shocked because she was indeed shocked.

"I--I believe you just did," he mumbled, turning a pair of startled gray eyes at his colleague. "Now if you were really so smart you'd take advantage of the situation and leave before I change my mind," he smirked, but he won't likely be changing his mind any time soon.

"If you're really sure..."

"Just go, Granger. God knows you need to rest. That was quite an action you experienced this afternoon. Besides, I don't want Potter come bearing down on me if he finds out you decided to join Weasley by taking up the empty hospital bed beside her," he couldn't help from teasing the not-so-bushy-haired teacher. Honestly she needed some cheering up after what happened this afternoon.

"Wha--wha..." Hermione was at a loss for words as she stared up at Draco in horror. He was just baiting her, wasn't he? He didn't honestly think that Harry would really worry too much about her, did he? And did he just hint that he knew she _fancied_ her best friend? That would be absurd, but the mirth she glanced dancing about in his gray eyes told her he was teasing her and yet he suspected something. She'd be damned if she let him in on some secret of hers! They might have gotten over their differences (her a Muggle-born and him a Pureblood), but that doesn't mean they were already bosom-buddies!

"Just go, Granger," he repeated more seriously this time, pulling her off the chair she had been using since this afternoon. "I'll notify you as soon as she wakes up," he assured her when Hermione looked like she was about to protest again.

Hermione agreed after a few more cajoling from Draco. He was right, of course, she needed to take a rest and put some food into her system. She remembered the last meal she ate was at lunch before the start of the match between Gryffindor and Slytherin; her stomach must've growled numerous times since she sat vigil by Ginny's bedside since she was brought in later this afternoon. With one final reminder to Draco to remind her as soon as Ginny stirred, she left the hospital wing with a plate of tasty food prepared for her.

Draco pulled the chair up closer to Ginny's bedside, placing it at level with her head and sat down.

She looked like an angel asleep like that. She was already changed into her jammies, a pastel pink shade with cute little bears printed on it. It was cotton unlike his silk, black ones. There was a huge bruise on the side of her head where Derek hit her with the club. His blood still boiled at the reminder of what that bastard did this afternoon. He had no right to do what he did; the game might be dirty as it was, but to outright pull a stunt like that was outrageous!

His hands balled into a tight fist once more as it rested on the armrest of the chair Hermione vacated. Derek never really loved Ginny despite of what he told her during those two months they were together. Draco knew Derek's real intention when he sought out Ginny and eventually won the Gryffindor girl.

Derek wanted to get back at Draco.

A girl Derek fancied didn't fancy him back, instead she wanted Draco and him being his usual self, he didn't pass up the opportunity to snag a girl as lovely and accommodating as that chick from Hufflepuff.

Somehow Derek found out Draco's infatuation with the red-haired Gryffindor girl; how Derek found out Draco still doesn't know, but maybe the damn git often caught him watching Ginny from afar; giving her longing glances then abruptly looking away whenever she happen to glance his way.

Yes. He fancied Ginny Weasley. It took him by surprise when he first realized what his feelings for the cute (yes, he even thought of her as cute) Gryffindor. He didn't want to, not really, but then who could really tell one's heart to close up when it found something nobody else has seen in another person?

Secretly he longed for the youngest Weasley, defending her as best as he could and tried not to insult her as much as possible. Of course he had to keep up appearances to cover up his feelings. That day on the train when he walked in on her reading alone in one of the compartments he almost gave in to his feelings. She looked up from reading whatever book she was reading (he knew it wasn't a school book because it was so small it can hardly pass up for one of the numerous Hogwarts textbooks), her eyes bright and her lips smiling a genuine smile. She thought he was Hermione. As soon as she realized who he was her smile disappeared and was then replaced by a scowl she only reserved from him (he knew she hated his guts so badly after all that he did to her and her brothers over the years). Nevertheless she took his breath away. Thank God for small mercies and Granger showed up when she did. Her presence in the compartment quelled his libido a bit and made him concentrate on something else other than temptation that was Ginny.

He first realized he fancied her at the beginning of his sixth year. She started to change around that time. She hung out more with girls her own age and dogged Potter, Weasley, and Granger even less. She seemed to look more alive whenever she was out with her friends. He often stopped in the hallway to look out at the courtyard whenever he caught a glimpse of her flaming red hair glistening against the sunlight. He would lounge against one of the pillars, his eyes focused on her smiling face as she posed for Creevey's camera. How many times was he tempted to corner Creevey in the hallways and _demand_ for a copy of Ginny's picture--any picture--to keep for himself? Tons of times, but he never pulled through with it.

When Derek sought her out he nearly punched the living daylights out of the stupid boy. Derek wanted to get even with him, that was already a given factor. And another reason was that he wanted to have Ginny in the biblical sense of the word. Whether Derek succeeded in bedding Ginny or not was something Draco rather not know about; in his mind Ginny Weasley was as pure as the first snowfall on the ground, never been touched, never been tarnished, that was Ginny.

Draco was pulled from his sudden reverie when he heard a soft whimper from the bed. Ginny was moving about, pushing down her blanket and a pained expression on her face. He was off his chair at once and sat down on the bed by her waist.

"Ginny?" he called her name softly, his hands grasping her wrists to stop her from thrashing the bed.

Ginny kept on moving her head from side to side, her face still contorted in a painful grimace. She stopped struggling with him though when she heard her name being called by someone. Her head hurt was hurting like hell. It felt like a thousand wild animals was doing a grand stampede inside her head, driving her nuts in the process.

"Ginny," Draco shook her lightly when she kept on moaning and groaning, wincing every now and then. "Stop moving, it'll only hurt more if you keep on moving," he advised her although he doubted she heard him.

That voice...it sounded so familiar and yet she couldn't put her finger to it. Nevertheless the mere sound of it started to soothe her a bit, made her stop thrashing about in bed. She didn't know how long she had been out, but it took her a while to peel her eyes open to see who owned the soothing voice.

Draco knew she was coming around. Her eyes started to move behind her closed eyelids. He knew he should move back in case she opened her eyes and found him hovering above her, but for the life of him he couldn't do it.

Ginny slowly pried her eyes open, blinking rapidly as it adjusted to the dimly lit room. She knew she wasn't in her dorm room the instant her eyes focused on the ceiling over the top of the blond head that was hovering just above her face. She had to refocus her gaze and looked right into a pair of sincere gray eyes. She took a deep breath when she recognized whom those eyes belonged to.

"Draco," his name came out as a whisper from her hoarse lips, her brown eyes still fixed with his.

It was the first time he heard her call him by his Christian name. It sounded natural coming out from her lips.

"I'm here, Gin," he assured her, reaching over his hand to touch the side of her forehead, careful not to press hard on the side where Derek hit her with the club.

Did he just call her Gin? She must be hallucinating. Since when in the world did Draco Malfoy start calling her by her given name? Well, her nickname, but nevertheless he _addressed_ her as 'Gin' instead of 'Weasley' which he often favoured calling her!

"W-what happened?" she asked the first question that popped into her mind, "Did-did we--er, did Gryffindor win?"

Draco smirked, "Hart caught the snitch and earned Gryffindor hundred and fifty points to add to your eighty," he nodded.

Ginny grinned, "So we won, 230 to 70. That's nice."

"It was awesome," Draco corrected her, shocking Ginny.

"Shouldn't you be rooting for Slytherin?" she raised an eyebrow (or tried to anyway, the mere action caused her head to hurt).

"Yeah, I should," he snorted, "But after what that damn Boones pulled do you think I'd be proud to cheer them on?"

She smiled slightly, "How is that asshole by the way?"

"Oh that asshole's banned from playing for five matches--or for the rest of the reason if I had my say, but the headmaster was a bit lenient and only suspended him for five. And he'd be serving detention for two whole months."

"Really? Wow..." she looked impressed, "I say serves him right for being an outright bastard," she said with enough conviction in her voice.

Draco chuckled and nodded his agreement. He was so happy she was alright.

"Does your head still hurts?" he asked, looking at the huge black and blue bruise forming on the side of her head.

"Like a bitch," she muttered, wincing when she felt a slight pang of pain course through her entire body at the slightest of movement.

"I'd suspect. What Derek did was uncalled for, and he did get an earful from Snape, McGonagall and I think Dumbledore as well."

"Thanks, Professor," she smiled.

Draco frowned. What was she thanking him for? For staying here with her? For saving her life? What?

Ginny read the question etched on his face and explained, "You _did_ save my life, didn't you? You were the one who caught me before I hit the ground."

"But you were unconscious."

"I was getting unconscious. I didn't actually pass out until I felt myself falling into your arms."

"Oh," Draco averted his gaze from her then, "And at what point after you fell into my arms did you pass out?"

Ginny grinned slowly. She was making him nervous. Was she still conscious when he planted that kiss on her forehead? Did she hear him assure her that she'd be alright?

"Professor, let me just say that you have the softest lips ever to graze my forehead," she teased.

Draco blushed. He _actually_ blushed! Ginny couldn't believe it. Even in the dimly lit room of the hospital wing she saw his cheekbones turn a light shade of pink.

"Then uhm...then uhm...well then I think I should take that as a compliment then," he looked very uneasy around her now.

Ginny chuckled softly, "I thought I was dreaming when I felt your lips touched my forehead. And I thought I was just hallucinating when you called me 'Gin' before you kissed me."

"I was just relieved that you were alright."

"And I thank _you_ for saving me."

"It's no problem, Weasley," he smiled back.

Ginny returned his smile, her eyes drowning into the depths of his smiling gray ones. His face was still hovering just above hers. They were talking in whispered voice so they wouldn't disturb anyone. She was suppose to still be resting and he shouldn't be tiring her out by talking to her, but this was only one of those rare moments they had where they could be together and talk without any barriers; he wasn't a teacher at Hogwarts and she wasn't a student; they were just two people sitting in a dimly lit room with the girl lying on the bed recuperating after suffering a terrible manhandling.

Draco was very much tempted to taste her tempting lips right at that very moment. She was just a breath away from him and he could've easily swooped his head down and claimed her lips, but there were still some protocol he must follow; certain school rules they must abide to. If he was still a student here he wouldn't mind doing what his libido, his mind, and his heart had been wanting to do to her for so long; but he wasn't a student here any more. He was a teacher now, one of the respectable teacher with a rep to uphold. Although he has heard of the rumours Derek obviously started after catching him and Ginny yesterday afternoon after class, he doesn't know how long it will be before the rest of Hogwarts put two and two together to come up with the correct answer.

He took heed of Ginny's advice and went straight to the headmaster before rumours started to spread about. He explained to Dumbledore as best he could what Derek walked in on. He left out the part of him wanting to kiss Ginny so badly, but the twinkle in the elder wizard's eyes told Draco he knew what he really wanted to do. When rumours assailed the next day of a certain teacher fancying a certain student, Draco prepared for his and Ginny's name to be dropped; thankfully it were all just speculations amongst students and he wasn't the only one being suspected of fancying a student. His two other new male colleagues were prime target of the students to gossip about. He heard Ginny's name thrown into their speculations once or twice, but nobody has confirmed anything yet.

_After this afternoon's stunt that you pulled, I think the entire school will finally draw their conclusion as to who that mystery teacher and student were,_ a voice at the back of his head chided.

Draco tried to quash that thought out, but it kept on nagging him at the back of his head. Kissing Ginny like that in public--no matter how _brotherly_ the action was--was definitely uncalled for. He had no right, as a teacher with no relationship whatsoever with the student, to show his emotion towards one of his charges, but he couldn't help himself. He was just as relieved as everyone else that Ginny was safe and sound albeit a bit bruised, but she was safe nevertheless.

Ginny lay there in anticipation. She could see Draco's head moving closer and closer still. He was going to kiss her now. She could feel her toes tingling and her spine pretty much having the same sensation as her toes. She didn't know why she was so excited that he was going to kiss her, all she knew was she couldn't wait to feel his soft lips crush hers in what she knew would be an explosive, passionate kiss. It doesn't matter if they get caught, just as long as she had a taste of him...then she could forget about him because she knew in her hearts of heart a relationship between a Malfoy and a Weasley could never be forged.

Draco's eyes were still fixed on Ginny's, his head continuing its downward motion until his lips were a couple of inches above hers. He inhaled her scent. She still smelled delicious even after all that sweat she had while playing Quidditch.

"Oh! You're finally awake!" exclaimed Hermione from the doorway, her hands to cover her mouth and her eyes smiling.

Draco quickly pulled his head away and turned to face his colleague who was standing at the doorway, "I thought I told you to stay in your room, Granger?" he demanded.

Hermione removed her hands from her mouth and glared at Draco, "And I thought you promised you'd wake me as soon as she regains consciousness, hm?" she challenged.

"She just woke up a couple of minutes ago," he lied.

"Oh really?" she put her hands on her hips and watched the former Slytherin bad boy and her best friend's youngest sibling. She knew what would've happened if she hadn't walked in on them, but she'd keep her mouth shut about it.

"Yes, _really,_" he insisted.

"Well, since I'm here now, mind if I have a few words with Ginny before I head back to my room?"

"Why certainly," Draco got up from Ginny's side and gestured for Hermione to step up and take his place. He looked down at his student and smiled, "Have a good night, Weasley. I'll just see you in the morning or on Monday at breakfast," he didn't wait for her to say anything, he quickly walked away and in passing Hermione he thought he saw her grinning like the Cheshire cat at him.

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**A/N:** _phew!_ thank you all for those wonderful reviews of yours! and by your demand, here's the next chapter! *lol* i decided to throw in a bit of...uh...romance? nah, romance wasn't even thrown in here! anyways, hope you all enjoyed this one. it's a bit longer...seems like my last few chapters tends to get longer and longer! *lol* anyways, comments/suggestions are very welcome...

**OpalKoboi:** she has it all meaning she has Draco??? hehehehe

**Angel-Hiragizawa32:** don't worry, i ain't hiding him in my closet! i know quite a few peeps would love to get his hide kicked so there's no way i'm gonna let him ruin my closet by simply hiding there!

**slytherin-cool:** awww...thank you! :::blushes:::

**SeZzA:** you can't find anything to criticize, eh? well that's good then, huh? hehehehe

**Faltering Hues:** yep, i love those Weasleys too that's why at every given chance i get i want them in it! *lol*

**myobgirly:** wow...i'm glad the situation twyla was in a couple of chapters back could be related to a similar situation with you. and as for their kissing...i want to build up the suspense until they could actually finally get it together *lol*

**Adria:** you're vying for a Twyla/Percy ship, eh? hehehe, well we'll see how we can incorporate their ship here...i mean, George already made a crack about Twyla's crush on Percy...now it's Percy's reaction we gotta find out...hehehehe

**HERMMES (_not_ Lord TigerVII):** hehehehe :::winks::: thanks for your review! i'm doing my best to continue as fast as i could

**kellyanne:** yep...and of course _that_ kiss will result in further speculations...hmmm....

**Redmeadow:** thanks for liking how Draco and Ginny's character in this fic...and i'll try to update as often as possible

***karly*:** hehehe, well here's more :::smiles:::

**hypermonkey67:** well here's the continuation...you don't have to wait long for it

**sassw14:** yep, damn Derek indeed! hehehehe, and i think Draco & Ginny admitted their feelings one way or the other...it just needs to be _explored_ a little bit...

**Crystal:** oh she definitely knows, although she thought she was only dreaming it! *lol*

**Jenn:** i'm thinking of getting them together too...it'll be a fun sub-plot line to write about Percy and Twyla...

**Xela:** i think the 'almost kiss in the hospital wing' is in this chappie...as for your first question...well, _Ginny_ will just have to answer that question--in the next chapters, hehehehe

**Lil Lady:** yep, quite a lot of people said they despise Derek Boones.

**Polgara:** hehehe, oh he's going to get it soon...

**lama:** *lol* calm down, sweetie, calm down...here, here is the next chapter. hope this is enough for now while i tinker away with the chapter after this...

**Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey:** i don't think any of the students were blind...but then again they were too busy...watching Ginny fall off her broomstick...uh...so yeah, i think the entire school saw what happened! *lol* and yep, keep me posted about your updates on your story

**hasapi:** oh for sure i will be having fun writing! hehehehe :::winks:::

**MYSTIQUE:** hehehe, i always enjoy reading some ramblings from my reviewers, hehehehe

**Starry:** thanks! i was worried i didn't do that Quidditch scene some justice

**happy kid:** oh Ginny's fine...she's just peachy fine :::winks:::

**txt-eva:** Hero Draco to the rescue, eh?

**DaRkShAdOwS:** i wish i could've seen her face too, but anyway, thanks for the award! i didn't know if that crack i wrote about embarrassing Percy worked or not, but i guess it did, hehehe...and Derek _loving_ Ginny? uuhhh...well, i think Derek's true intentions were explained in this chappie

**Anyanka:** good...good...hehehe, he better not be really exhausted after you've had your fun with him! *lol* and as for Derek's punishment...Ginny still hasn't thought of what to do to him, but I'm sure her brothers (and Harry) have...hehehehe

**Sara:** that could be arranged, hehehehe

**Hannah4Daniel:** well, it's nice to have you back again! and i'll do my best to update LGO and F4U, but right now i'm so psyched-up with this fic to actually continue on those two fics, but eventually i'll get around to finishing those two

**Lonely tenshi:** yep, there was a slight bit of d/g action in the previous chapter

**Persephonie:** i don't think Derek has enough brains to realize that he just declared a world war against the Weasley boys, the Boy Who Lived, and two teachers! *lol*

**Sharlene:** who else do you think won the game?! hehehehe, and calm down, Derek will get his due in no time at all

**demented weesil:** you need _more_ Draco, eh? well, is there enough Draco in _this_ chapter for you, hm?

**SAngel:** yep, it'll be sooo bad he'd be thinking first _before_ doing anything!

**Loves-Kiss:** oh yeah, Ginny sounded kinda like Scarlett O'Hara in chappie 8, didn't she? hehehehe and I'll see what I can do about Draco, Ginny, and Draco's desk...hehehehe, but I'll just probably have to email it to you if ever I do get around to writing about it! *lol*


	11. Unwanted Attention

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING!!! i enjoyed reading your reviews, especially from the last couple of chapters i posted. i was somewhat keeping my fingers crossed that you guys would like what i wrote in there and i'm sooooo happy that you did!!! :::goes around giving each and every one of you a hug::: again, a million thanks over!!!

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**XI. ****Unwanted Attention**

Madam Pomfrey released Ginny from the hospital wing Sunday evening after performing a concealing charm on her bruise. She couldn't guarantee Ginny if her headache would go away soon so the medi-witch gave her a potion to drink to help relieve the pain.

Ginny opted out of dining in the Great Hall that night. She doubt the noise level in there would help lessen her headache. Professor McGonagall was the one who took Ginny from the hospital wing and escorted her into her office. She wanted to talk to her to make sure she was alright and ready to attend classes the next day. Ginny assured her Transfiguration and head of Gryffindor house that she was already feeling better.

"Please, Professor, no special treatments," Ginny begged, "I'll go about my day to day routine as if nothing happened."

"But Ms. Weasley, what just happened to you isn't something that shouldn't be taken lightly," Professor McGonagall pointed out.

"I understand, ma'am, but I'm not an invalid. Madam Pomfrey gave me some potions to take in case I feel headache-y," she explained.

It took Ginny a good hour to convince her teacher that she doesn't need pampering. As soon as she was back in her dorm, the first group of people that greeted her were her teammates. They swarmed her like an army of bees.

"Ginny, are you okay?"

"Does your head still hurt?"

"Are you sure you're allowed out of the infirmary?"

"Don't you need to rest some more?"

Question after worried question was thrown at her as soon as she walked in to the common room. She didn't know who to answer first and she couldn't place who asked what question to her. They were all talking at once she was starting to get a _major_ headache! She knew they were all worried about her, but all these attention she was getting was a bit over the top.

Not waning to be rude, she answered their questions as much as she could. After a good hour had passed she announced she was tired and needed to rest. Her housemates were understanding and bid her goodnight. Twyla and Janelle accompanied her to their room and crowded around her on her bed. Twyla sat on one side and Janelle sat on the other. Both of her friends were looking worried.

"Guys, I'm okay," she insisted, looking from Twyla to Janelle.

"We were just so worried Gin," it was Janelle who spoke first.

"Yeah. None of us were allowed in the hospital wing to see you. Only family and teachers," Twyla pouted.

"Thankfully we saw your brothers before they left and asked them how you were," Janelle paused and took a breath.

"Percy was so worried about you. He didn't want to leave," Twyla informed her, "Even Ron, Harry, and the twins didn't want to go, but Hermione persuaded them eventually."

"She promised to owl them as soon as you regained consciousness," Janelle added.

Ginny listened attentive as her friends recount the events of the last twenty-four hours. Dumbledore announced at breakfast that Ginny had gained consciousness but advised everyone not to disturb her just yet.

"He said all well-wishers must wait until tomorrow to speak with you," Janelle said.

Her two friends quickly put her up to speed with the Derek situation. Apparently he received a howler from his mother during breakfast berating him for what he did.

"And boy could Mrs. Boones scream!" Twyla shivered as she recalled how loud Vivian Boones' voice was.

"It was _that_ loud?" Ginny couldn't believe it. She never met Derek's mother, but in the two months that they went out she received a couple of owls from his mother, and she was a kind, gentle creature...from her letters anyway. "I wish I was there. I would've loved to have seen Derek's face while the howler was yelling at his face," she giggled.

"Ooh, it was _priceless!_" Janelle giggled, "His face was so red, it almost matched the colour of the famous Weasley hair!" she burst out into a full-out laugh.

Ginny tried to picture in her mind the always cool and always composed Derek Boones turning a deep shade of red. He must have been _really_ embarrassed if his face turned a deep scarlet colour!

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Next day at breakfast Ginny wished she was back in the safety and tranquility of the hospital wing. As soon as she stepped in to the Great Hall almost the entire student body--with the exception of Slytherin of course--came upon her, each inquiring about her condition and asking half a million question at the same time. It nearly took her ten minutes to get to Gryffindor table and sat down with the rest of her housemates. It wasn't only until Dumbledore cleared his throat and addressed the students that they should leave Ginny alone to eat and that they should all do the same as well.

Reluctantly each of her ardent well-wishers bid her farewell for now and went back to their own tables. Some said they would just talk to her in class while some said they would catch up with her later after breakfast.

Ginny _hated_ the attention she was receiving. She was glad, of course, that they were all worried about her. After all what she just suffered through wasn't the type that could easily be ignored. Being hit on the side of the head with a club deliberately was very dangerous; she could've ended up with a concussion and be in a coma for the rest of her life!

In the middle of her breakfast, Ginny risked a quick glance at the staff table and found Draco deep in conversation with Hermione as usual, but this time he looked like he wasn't enjoying what Hermione was saying to him at all. From her vantage point of view she could see Hermione's eyes glinting with pure mirth while Draco's face was like granite. She hadn't seen him since she woke up with him looking down at her in the hospital wing Saturday night. They had a near-kiss encounter once again in the hospital wing, but thanks to Hermione's good timing (or not), _nothing_ happened.

"Hey, Gin, you better stop ogling at Malfoy unless you want to fuel up the rumour mill," Twyla nudged her close friend when she noticed that Ginny's attention was no longer concentrated to her food.

Ginny snapped out of her sudden trance and turned to look at her friend, her forehead knotted into a frown, "What are you talking about, Twyla? _What_ rumours?" she asked.

"Didn't you know?" Colin leaned in closer from across the table from her, obviously he had been eavesdropping on what his friends were talking about.

Now Ginny turned her frowning face at Colin, obviously she didn't know _what_ they were talking about. She knew there _was_ a rumour circulating around Hogwarts about a certain teacher fancying a certain student, but as far as she could remember (before she got hit by that damn club and was rendered unconscious for hours!) nobody was able to prove _who_ the teacher and student was.

"Know what?" she looked around widely between her three friends, Janelle obviously decided to join in on the conversation. "Guys, in case you have forgotten, I wasn't around much over the weekend to _know_ what's going on. And although Janelle and Twyla kept me up to date with what has happened over the last couple of days, I am still not _that_ updated on everything else!"

Colin, Janelle, and Twyla all exchanged worried glances. Janelle and Twyla decided to opted out of telling Ginny that after she was rescued by their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the entire school witnessed the affectionate kiss he planted on her forehead--they had no idea _how_ their friend would react. She had been through enough for one weekend, and hearing the news that she and Draco Malfoy suddenly became hot news around school wouldn't help much to hasten her recovery.

"Guys..." Ginny hissed through gritted teeth. Something was amiss or else her friends wouldn't act this strange around her.

Colin, Janelle, and Twyla each looked at each other, asking one another _who_ will tell Ginny what was going on.

"Guys..." Ginny insisted.

"Okay. Ginny, don't freak out, alright?" Janelle was the one with enough guts to tell their friend what has happened since she was knocked unconscious after Saturday's match. Taking a deep, calming breath, she leaned her head closer so only Ginny could hear, "The whole school saw Draco Malfoy kiss you on the forehead. Now the entire student body's speculating if you and him were the nameless student _and_ teacher that was rumoured Friday."

Ginny's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

_Oh no!_ she quickly whipped her head at the direction of the staff table where Draco and Hermione were still deep in conversation. _Could that be the reason why he looked so glum?_

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**A/N:** alrighty peeps, a _very_ short chappie in comparison to my previous chapters. i'm just in a rush (sorta) to get this out so i could start on the next chapter. anyways, this chapter ain't really exciting much...more like a filler, but anyhow, i'll let you all decide.

**Loves-Kiss:** thanks for letting me know, and i do try to update as soon as i can

**Crystal:** *lol* uhm...i dunno how to take it...you liked the slight bit of fluff or you hated it...oh well, here's a short chappie

**Beccs:** hopefully this chappie is good enough as the previous ones

**myobgirly:** Harry & Hermione aren't together yet in this fic...I'm working on it, but I'm not sure yet...maybe they'll get together, maybe they're not...I'm not much of a Ron/Hermione shipper for some unknown reason. and Colin's affection for Ginny borders much more on the 'brotherly love' side

**AmethystQueen:** thanks for liking the portrayal of all of Ginny's friends

**sassw14:** i sure would love to bring more of Ginny's bros into the story...and i did the best i could to get into Draco's head and give the readers a glimpse into what he was thinking about

**happy kid:** and here's another chappie

**Anyanka:** well let's leave Derek's manly bits in tact...for now...and yeah, just make sure that after you're done doing your fun with Draco on that desk, tidy up after yourselves, aight? *lol*

**Jade Stellar:** the snogging will be coming soon...how soon don't ask me coz i just write whatever so i dunno when i can set the mood for them to actually share a _real_ kiss

**slytherin-cool:** i got the name "Sonya" from one of the ladies i work with. for some reason i just liked the sound of it and while thinking up names for my OC's, that name just popped inside my head. and Ron will react the same way every time...uhm...I dunno _how_ exactly *lol*

**kellyanne:** awww...don't hate Hermione for ruining the moment! *lol*

**DaRkShAdOwS:** it was a 'near kiss' again at the hospital wing while it was Ginny's forehead Draco kiss in chapter 9 and Hermione sure looked giddy about Draco and Ginny getting together...

**Kitycat87:** well third time's the charm...but we'll still see :::grins:::

**Persephonie:** glad we agreed that Derek is indeed an idiot...and yeah, I'm trying to get Draco to be more open with his feelings...after all, women likes to see the sensitive side to their men sometimes, right? :::wink, wink::: hehehehe

**MYSTIQUE:** hahaha, you're right, we can _only_ wish! and it'll take as long as his libido can stand it

**charismatic:** oooh...cheesecake...haven't had one of those in a while...and yeah, the kiss...well, they'll eventually get down to kissing soon

**KeeperOfTheMoon:** thank you! I don't think Hermione gives much damn whether Draco & Ginny get together just as long as Draco treats the girl right, right?

**Starry:** i know the feeling...i hate to wait forever too for an update

**cherries:** hmm...i'm gonna work real hard so that their first kiss would be something worth remembering...hehehehe

**G. Zan:** yep, that's the kinda relationship i'm gunning for...hehehehe

**Angel Black:** patience, my friend, they'll get down to some serious snoggin' in a little while...

**MelissaAdams:** well this next one is a bit short, but kinda sets up the pace/tone for the next chapters, right? well, it's what i'd like to think so anyway *lol*

**Redmeadow:** he's a bad boy _recovering_ from being a bad boy...well, not entirely _recovering_ but he's a teacher now and he doesn't want to be the same prick that he was back in his schooldays

**wowsergirl:** i'm adding more as soon as i possibly can

**VirtualFaerie:** a Percy and Twyla ship is in the works...well, hehehe, we'll see how that one develops

**hypermonkey67:** no, please don't write bad reviews or you'll hurt my feelings...uhm...hehehe, or not...well, here's the next chappie!

**Jenn:** i know _exactly_ what you're talking about, and yes, i know what you mean about living out a fantasy of some sort. too bad i didn't have any good looking teachers back in high school or college. but oh well, i could still dream :::winks:::

**SeZzA:** no, i _don't_ hate you. how can i? anyhow, the kiss is coming...

**Sharlene:** don't damn Hermione...she didn't mean to interrupt a very nice moment between Draco & Ginny

**Butterflysky:** uuh...what did you just write??? :::grins & winks::: and she could've just pulled his head down for a kiss, but she still hasn't regained her strength yet so she just laid there like a vegetable, hehehehe

**hasapi:** LGO is kinda stuck...well, _I'm_ kinda stuck...i dunno where to go from there so i'm taking a _very long break_ from it. i'll eventually get back to it

**Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey:** i know they're cute, that's why i wanna keep ya'll in suspense :::evil laugh:::

**lama & co:** whoa! that was a pretty long review...hehehe, not that i mind because i definitely enjoyed reading it. and don't be too harsh on Xela...if she's in some kinda writer's block funk i can _definitely_ relate. i have a couple of stories i am stuck on and can't possibly write/add anything to it so it just sits there waiting for me to pick it up and work on it again

**Miss Marauder:** i didn't think your heart was racing...not even one bit :::grins:::

**Neni Potter:** yep, yes indeedy they are

**Hannah4Daniel:** i'll try and add more to those 2 stories, but in the meantime i'll be working on this one for now

**Lady A:** yep, i seem to keep on forgetting to stick to one tense. thanks for the advice

**sadie (say-dee:** no, she shouldn't fall into any hole...she might play a _major_ part later on...well, i'm working on it...hehehe

**vanns:** good luck on that d/g fic you're starting on and they'll get together soon....

**karly:** hehehehe, well, here's that short chappie i told you about...after this i'm working on the next one and hopefully i get to post it tonite b4 i go to sleep

**August:** so you don't mind the near-kiss scenes??? hehehehe

**mavis:** i think teachers _always_ have that kinda competition, hehehehe...i can't tell you right now when they'll be locking lips...like what i keep on saying...soon

**Polgara:** he'll get his due soon

**Isis:** they didn't kiss in _this_ chapter, sorry, but i'll see _where_ I can sneak it in...hehehehe


	12. Damn Blasted Rumors!

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** to make up for the short chappie I posted earlier, well, here's a fairly long one, but let me warn you, I sorta got carried away with some _drama_ here (although I doubt it), so let me know what you think, aight?

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**XII. Damn Blasted Rumors!**

Ginny had to run out of the castle just before dinner to get away from all the wondering eyes watching her. She knew almost every student in school were worried _and_ wondering about her at the same time. Draco shouldn't have done what he did after he caught her Saturday during the match. If he wanted to kiss her so badly, why didn't he wait until they were somewhere more uh...private perhaps?

"God, what an idiot!" she exclaimed through clenched teeth, stomping angrily about near the pitch.

She was fuming mad, clenching and unclenching her fists as she walked back and forth, creating a hole on the very spot she was walking on. She needed to relax or she would explode. She heard a couple of second years whispering about her and Draco secretly meeting each other after hours for a quickie. _As if!_ If she was getting some, it wasn't with Draco Malfoy! And she wasn't getting some, period! How dense could these people be?

"So what if he kissed me on the damn forehead? Maybe he was just relieved. _Yes!_ He did say he was relieved that I was alright. If it had been Harry who caught me and planted a kiss on my forehead, would the entire school be talking about it? _No!_ Of course not," she paused and thought about this for a while, "Hmm...maybe not since half of the school's population knew about my so-called big-arse crush on the blasted Boy Who Lived who has become nothing more than another annoying surrogate brother who couldn't stop nagging me at any given opportunity!"

"Talking to yourself, Weasley?"

Ginny jumped when she heard Draco spoke from behind her. She quickly stopped her pacing and whirled around to face the person _responsible_ for the blasted rumors she had to deal with today.

"W-what are you doing here, Malfoy?" she managed to squeak out once her heart stopped racing.

Draco lifted an eyebrow and took a couple of small steps towards her, his hands clasped behind him and the front of his robe pulled tautly against his chest, spreading on to the broad expanse of his shoulder. _God, why did he have to be so handsome?_ she thought as her eyes drank in the very sight of her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"Making sure you're alright, Weasley," he answered with a casual shrug of his shoulders, "I saw you storm out of class red faced--and it wasn't from embarrassment because _nobody_ embarrassed you in class. So I'm taking a _wild_ stab here and say that it had something to do with what the students had been talking about, hm?" he lifted an eyebrow in query, his gray eyes holding Ginny's brown eyes.

"Very perceptive, Professor," she drawled out from under her breath, her eyes suddenly shooting daggers at him. How could he appear so cool and collected while all these kids in school were talking about them as if they were a couple traipsing around school in secret? Doesn't he give a hoot about what _others_ might think about?

"Indeed?" he had the gall to looked slightly stunned, to Ginny's annoyance.

"You seem to be taking the rumors quite well, Professor, considering _you_ were the one who fuelled it up in the first place!" she accused, finally losing her cool. She hated that he could act nonchalant about this whole thing while she was a walking, talking bag of nerves ready to explode any time now.

"_Me?_" now he had the gall to look slightly impressed.

_Arrgh!_ Ginny wanted to pummel her balled fist right down his throat at the precise moment. He was making this difficult for her.

"Yes, _you_, Malfoy," she puffed out her chest and squared her shoulders, looked like she was in for some head-to-head battle with her professor. She took a few steps forward until she was standing at arm's length from him. "If you could've just kept your lips to yourself and _never_ touched any part of me _then_ none of this would've happened," she raised her arms in the air, gesturing as she continued her tirade, "_None_ of the students would be doing some speculating. The blasted student _and_ teacher would've remained nameless still if it hadn't been for that stupid stunt that you pulled!"

"Is that right?" his calm demeanor was starting to get on her nerves that anytime now Ginny would lunge at him and beat him to a pulp! After all, she _did_ grew up with six rambunctious brother--_plus_ a surrogate brother--who taught her how to handle her guys when they tend to get on her nerves. 

"_Arrgh!_" she shrieked and turned her back to him, stomping away muttering under her breath. She stopped when she was a good five feet away and whirled back to glare at him, "Aren't you even the least bit _ruffled_ by these rumors, huh, Malfoy?! I mean, come _on!_ You're a teacher! Student-teacher relationships _aren't_ allowed, unless of course we're siblings or family or...or like me and Hermione!" 

"You and Hermione?" he raised an eyebrow maliciously at her, "Tell me, Weasley, exactly _what_ kind of relationship do you have with Granger, hm?" 

If looks could kill Draco Malfoy would be buried six feet under by now. 

"How _dare_ you imply that there's more to my relationship with Hermione than there is! She's the older sister I never had, you dimwitted blond git! _Arrgh!_" she turned her back to him once more and slowly counted one to ten. She never felt this violent before in her entire life! She wanted to commit murder and the first person on her hitlist was standing just a few feet away from her. 

Draco tried as best as he could to conceal the bubbling mirth rising from within him. God, it was always a refresher to annoy a Weasley. He had to deal with how many students giving him leering looks all day, wondering if the rumors were true. Some even had the audacity to voice out their concerns while others merely studied him, especially during his last class for the day where Ginny was in. Half of his students hardly paid attention to what he was talking about in class; each of them--including his Slytherin students--were pretty much preoccupied with what was going on between him and Ginny, every one of his students except Derek Boones of course. 

He watched the seventh year Slytherin blond throughout the entire Defense Against the Dark Arts period. The boy was shooting daggers at him for reasons he could not fathom. Derek couldn't possibly be jealous of him! His relationship with Ginny was already over, and after what he did Saturday during the game, Draco knew there was no way they would be rekindling their so-called relationship! 

"Weasley--" he started, but he was brutally rebuffed by Ginny's angry, "Get lost!" but that didn't deter him from speaking his mind out. "Weasley, listen to me. I know what I did was wrong. I shouldn't have showed my emotion in front of the whole school like that, but like the other teachers--as well as your brothers, Potter, and Granger--I was only relieved that you didn't fall on the ground and probably broke your damn neck!" 

Ginny turned around again to face him, her arms tightly wrapped around her waist. "But did you really have to kiss me on the forehead?" she questioned. 

"It was instinct," he shrugged. 

"_Instinct?_" she echoed. 

"Yeah. You know, I mean, I'm sure one of your brothers would've done the same as soon as they have you tucked safely in their arms after what happened. Even your parents would've done the same thing too!" 

"Yeah, they would've, but _you?_" she was having a hard time believing what she was hearing. This Draco Malfoy that stood before her was very unlike the old Draco Malfoy she knew from years before. Sure he could still be annoying as hell, but at the same time he was showing a different side to him that wasn't at all there before. 

"What's wrong with that?" 

"What's wrong?" Ginny let out a chuckle, "Malfoy, in case you have forgotten for a split second that you are _not_ related to me either by blood _or_ by family and that you're also a teacher here, you...just...don't _do_ that sort of thing," she shrugged, at a loss for anymore words to say. 

She raised her eyes and met his once again, holding his gaze and willing him--_challenging_ him--to prove her wrong, to tell her that whether they were family or foe, a person was only human with real emotions that took over them sometimes when they least expected it. 

Draco closed the distance between them, standing just a short distance away from her, their eyes still locked. The sun was already setting behind her, casting an orangey glow across the horizon and made Ginny's hair looked seemingly on fire. He reached out his hand and cupped her cheek, his thumb gently caressing her soft, silk-like skin. 

"M-Malfoy--" she started to protest, but Draco raised his other hand and placed his index finger against the soft petals of her lips, silencing her. 

"Shh...shh..." he shook his blond head no as it slowly made its descent down to capture her lips. 

Ginny sucked in a deep breath as she anticipated the initial touch of their mouths. Dammit, this was wrong. This was all wrong and yet it felt so damn right it was sickening! First of all he was her teacher. Second of all he was a Malfoy. Third of all she was a Weasley. How twisted could their fates be for throwing them at each other together like this? 

Draco gently touched his lips to hers, savouring the feel of its closeness without actually deepening the kiss. It was a feather-light kiss that sent tingles down Ginny's spine and went down lower until she felt it on her toes. 

_Oh God, what the hell am I doing?!_ her mind screamed in hysteria. She managed to command her arms to rise up and pressed against his chest. She pushed him away with all her might and averted her face. 

"No," she said firmly and walked around him, giving them a much needed space that would sure serve them good. "_No,_" she repeated the word again, shaking her head as she kept on walking, not stopping until she was certain the space she put between them was sufficient enough to keep him at bay. 

"G--" Draco began to say, but Ginny stopped him from finishing a word by whirling around to face him, anger flashing in her now deep, dark brown eyes. 

"I don't want to add more fuel to the fire, Draco Malfoy. If you kissed me and somebody saw us, it would only confirm _their_ suspicion about us cavorting somewhere after class to do whatever we wanted to do with each other!" 

Draco stood still, listening intently to what the petite redhead was telling him. 

"I don't want to be the butt of any more rumors around here. I've had it being talked about, sneered about, ridiculed, and God knows what else they could think of doing to me! I tried to be strong, after what happened during my first year, every time I walk into class, sit down and listen to each professor drone on and on about their lesson, I kept my chin held high and looked down my nose at those who dared make fun of me. I know other students still talked about what happened, even after all these years there were still those who wanted to share every damn bit of information they wanted to find out about me. Sure I was often seen dogging after Harry, Ron, and Hermione or hanging out with one of their friends because I was scared of what kids from _my_ year thought of me after what happened, but then I grew out of it," she paused and took a deep breath, holding the tears back from falling. 

Draco watched her chin quiver. She was trying not to cry. She wouldn't shed a tear in front of him. Talking about what happened to her after that incident six years ago still hurt her, but she was strong and proud. She wanted to make a point and by hell or high water she would make her point without dissolving into tears like some sissy. 

"Colin was the first to befriend. He was a really great guy. We hung out a lot and studied together. He helped me get over my insecurities over what others thought of me, and that was when I started to make friends and got a life. When I started to change, guys started noticing me, I got asked out on dates which I turned down either because Harry, Ron, or Hermione didn't approve of him or simply because I didn't like him. When I started turning down guys there was a rumor that I was gay. I just shrugged it off, of course, but deep down inside it hurts. Then Derek sought me out. I have to admit, I was bowled over by him. I don't know why, maybe it was him sweet-talking me, knowing all the right moves and shit like that, but he got me, hook, line, and sinker. I thought I found _the_ right guy for me. I didn't care what my brothers said or what Harry and Hermione said. I thought I was in love and the guy I love loves me back," she chuckled, a mocking chuckle and she shook her head. "What an idiot I was. Derek doesn't love me, he only wanted to score with me, but when he couldn't he sought out somebody else who could give him what he wanted--a quick tumble between the sheets." 

"Ginny--" 

Ginny wasn't finished yet. She raised her hand to stop him from interrupting, "When I caught him necking with that chick, I swear I saw black and red. I embarrassed Derek in front of the girl as well as in front of my friends saying that he couldn't get his so-called 'equipment' to work properly that's why I didn't want to get it on with him. I dumped him on the spot and the girl dumped him on the spot as well, which didn't sit well with him, so he started a rumor about _me_ again saying I slept around." 

Draco heard about that. He couldn't believe it when he first heard Derek telling all his friends about him catching Ginny Weasley in the arms of some other guy inside some damn broom closet. 

"He twisted the truth around," Draco drawled out, his teeth clenched tightly and his fists curled up in to a tight ball. "What an asshole." 

"Ditto," Ginny nodded. "I have to live through all the taunting I got after Derek spread that rumor about me. I was happy when the school year was over and I was on my way back to the Burrow. I figured everyone would've forgotten about what Derek told them and I could go on attending school without people judging me, and it did. People stopped talking about what happened last year. Derek held a grudge against me for what I did and when he saw you and me in your classroom last Friday afternoon, he devised a plan to make my life a living hell once more." 

"By starting the rumor about the nameless teacher fancying a nameless student." 

"You got it. You see, nobody would've guessed who the teacher was and who the student was, but then _you_ had to act all heroic and couldn't keep your damn lips to yourself. Now they have a face to the mystery couple and I have to live through another damn rumor, and I can't do that anymore, Malfoy. I'm _sick_ and _tired_ of pretending to be tough because I am not. Not really anyway," she admitted, biting on her lower lip to stop her lips from quaking. "I'm not strong enough to face another blast of fucking rumors to fight off, dammit!" 

Draco didn't have to think twice of what he was doing. Ginny just opened up to me, admitting to him what she wasn't capable of doing. He hadn't realized until now how much she had been through since she started attending Hogwarts. He pulled Ginny into the circle of his arms, holding her protectively. 

Ginny turned her face into his chest and let out the tears she had been trying to hold. She never opened up to anybody before. Nobody knew exactly what she went through every time a rumor about her was spreading, and she never told anyone about her feelings. She kept it locked up inside her thinking she would be able to hold it all in, but today it was the final straw. 

Draco let her cry out the pain and frustration she felt. He gently ran his hand up and down her back, murmuring words of comfort and urging her to just cry it out. 

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**A/N:** uhm...well, I dunno about this chapter! did I overdo it? did it even make sense? what do you think? I knew I had it all planned inside my head before I started typing it, but now...well, I think it sucked! oh well, I'll just make it up some other time! hehehehe, as always wanna hear/read what you think so please review, thanks!

**HERMMES:** yep, Hermione just _have_ to walk on in them like that, hehehehe :::winks:::

***karly*:** thanks, now here's a bit _longer_ chappie to make up for the previous one, hehehe

**kellyanne:** it's okay, apology accepted. and yeah, it should be against the law to leave a chapter hanging like that, but look!!! you didn't have to wait too long for the next one, right?

**Beccs:** hmm...maybe it will, hehehe

**SeZzA:** hey, i sorta _did_ make them kiss in this chappie, but...uhm...hehehe, well, no tongues involved yet *lol* and as for which story you should continue on first...you know what? go with whatever you have the inspiration for to do right now. that's what i do. i have two other fics that i left sitting there for like months now and couldn't damn continue with it and i worked on _Mission_ which i finished in no time. i hope this helped. i really like both your fic, but if can't think of what to write for _Beneath_ then move on to another one then come back to it once you've got the plot going again

**Faltering Hues:** yep...and...uh...I dunno exactly _what_ this chapter established between their relationship...maybe a bit more of an understanding about Ginny for Draco's part?

**sassw14:** thank you sooo much! well, here's a bit longer chapter for you to read


	13. Secret Friendship

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** I AM SOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SO SOON! ok, here's the reason _why_ I took a break from updating like almost everyday: I DIDN'T HAVE INTERNET ACCESS FOR 3 DARN DAYS! but now that I'm back online expect some updates coming your way in the next couple of days :::grins::: CHEERS!

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**XIII. ****Secret ****Friendship**

Ginny went about the rest of her week as usual. Other students still speculated; her friends still defended her; and Derek proved to be a trifle too much to bear. He boasted to those who cared to listen what he walked in on last Friday in Draco's classroom. No matter how pissed off half of the student population was to him after Saturday's first Quidditch match, still the gossip-hungry students were all vying for some piece of information about the latest gossip at Hogwarts.

"I swear if I hear people gossiping about me one more time I'm going to explode!" Ginny angrily plunked herself on the grassy ground at the courtyard Friday afternoon after her Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"Aw...c'mon, Ginny. It's not really _that_ bad," cajoled Janelle, plopping down on the ground beside her friend.

Ginny let out a disapproving 'tuh!' and rolled her eyes skyward. She placed her bag against the fountain basin and stretched out on the lawn, using her bag as a pillow. Twyla and Colin soon joined their two friends lounging by the fountain.

"Perfect," Colin grinned after snapping a photo of a longing Ginny and a stretching Janelle.

"Colin, will you please stop taking embarrassing pictures of us," snapped Janelle, glaring up at her friend.

"Why?" Colin frowned, sitting down across from them, "Didn't you know that candid shots brings out the true essence of the photographer's subject?"

The three girls exchanged incredulous glances before bursting into fits of giggles. They each grabbed a handful of grass and threw it at Colin.

"_Hey!_" cried Colin who raised his arms to shield his face from the rain of grass, but the girls continued to attack him with grass. "Come on, guys, stop it!"

The girls didn't relent until they were all doubled over with laughter. Even Colin was laughing along with them. His feeble attempt at retaliating was a complete failure; three against one--and the odds were against him.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here. Four little lion cubs rolling on the grass," Derek's shadow cast over the four friends sprawled on the lawn.

Ginny sat up straight and glared at their unwanted intruder.

"What do you want, Boones?"

Derek turned his attention to the redhead, an eyebrow raised as he sized her up.

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Draco caught sight of what was happening in the courtyard on his way to his living quarters. He was waylaid from where he was going when he heard a burst of girlish giggle coming from the courtyard. He stopped to see what it was about and saw Ginny with her friends laughing. They were ganging up on Creevey who was doing his best to fend for himself, but the odds were against him.

"I'll be watching where I set my sights on, Professor. There are students lurking about keeping a close eye on you," Hermione teased her former school nemesis. She came up from the opposite direction when she saw him.

Draco glared and tore his gaze from the four friends having fun in the courtyard. "Shut your yap, Granger," he scolded good-naturedly.

Hermione grinned from ear-to-ear and stepped up beside her colleague. She watched the three Gryffindor girls pelt their friend with grass. It was good to see Ginny laughing again after the horrible incident over the weekend.

"They look like a happy lot, don't they?" she mused while watching her four friends.

"Yeah, I suppose," Draco shrugged, "But I'm glad Weasley was able to get back on her feet again."

"Our Ginny is a fighter, Malfoy. Nothing can dampen her spirits," she boasted.

Draco kept his mouth clamped tightly shut. Apparently Granger wasn't aware of Ginny's personal struggle to cope with everything that has happened to her. His mind went back to what happened Monday evening between him and Ginny. It was the first time anybody has opened up to him. He wasn't expecting to find out more about the youngest Weasley's feelings. He was quite content of what he knew of her until that night. Now he was even more fascinated and impressed with how well she was able to cope with everything that has happened and was happening to her.

He knew what Ginny shared with him was confidential. An invisible bond--trust perhaps?--was forged between them that night. They hadn't become friends yet, but they certainly had an understanding. She shed unabashed tears on his chest whilst he held her safely in his arms, quietly relaying to her that he was there for her and would always be there for her whenever she needed help.

"Oh no, here comes trouble," he heard Hermione mutter beside him.

Draco came off his sudden trance and locked his eyes on the blond boy approaching Ginny and her friends. Draco could tell from the look on Derek's face that the boy was up to no good. He was about to march out to the courtyard to stop Derek, but Hermione caught his arm and stopped him.

"Not so fast, Malfoy. Let's see what he's up to first."

"He's up to no good as always, that's what that prick is up to," he hissed.

"I know that, silly, but I think we should also give him the benefit of the doubt," she pointed out.

"Whatever. If he starts trouble with those four I'll have his hide for it," he threatened.

"If he does that then you better save some for me to whoop too because he won't get away from it that easily."

"Don't worry, I will," he promised, his eyes still fixed on Derek.

They could only hear bits and pieces of what was being exchanged between the students. Ginny didn't look at all that pleased with Derek's presence.

"Why do you think I'm here, Ginny?" Derek taunted the redhead.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you want to make my life a living hell?" Ginny replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm while her eyes shot daggers at her ex-boyfriend.

Derek had a pleasantly menacing smile on his face. He was still sizing her up and goading her to fight.

"I knew you were smart, _Virgin_ia," he let out a chuckle and added, "You you don't give justice to your name anymore, do you? Since you're with Malfoy now, everybody knows _nobody_ stays a virgin too long when they were with him."

"Take that back, you arrogant prick!" Colin quickly sprung to his feet to defend Ginny. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Derek turned his attention now to Colin. Both boys were poised to battle each other out. Their fists clenched and unclenched on their sides while their glares became more and more deadlier by the second.

"I think it's time we intervene," Hermione whispered in alarm and left her post. "Just follow my lead," she advised Draco as she made her way to the courtyard.

Derek and Colin were still shooting daggers at each other with their glares by the time Draco and Hermione reached them.

"What's going on here, boys?" Hermione asked a tad bit too chirpily, but it did break off the tension between the two boys. Draco appeared seconds later beside Hermione, his eyes fixed on Derek and Colin who were both ready to duke it out at the courtyard.

Both boys slowly broke away from their fighting stance, but it took them a couple of seconds before they broke their icy glare at each other.

"Good day, Professor," Colin was the first to acknowledge the two professors.

"What's going on here, Creevey?" Draco questioned, his eyebrow raised as he watched both boys carefully.

"Nothing, Professor. Boones and I were just sorting something out."

"By throwing your fists at each other?" Draco turned his gaze to Boones who simply stood with his feet slightly apart, his chin jutted into the air and his arms crossed over his shoulders. "You know you're still under probation, Boones, and if I remember correctly, it clearly stipulates you keep your damn distance from Weasley unless you're playing against each other in Quidditch," he reminded calmly, but the iciness and conviction of what he was telling his student laced his tone.

"Probation, detention, a severe warning...they're just nothing but puny threats, _Professor,_" Derek spat out.

"I'll be careful with what I say and how I act nowadays, Boones," Draco warned him coolly, but his gray eyes turned as cool as steel. "You're just a few heartbeat away from being kicked out of Hogwarts after what you did during the first Quidditch match. You're lucky your mother is very likeable amongst the staff of this school or else you'll be kicked out of Hogwarts without any damn recommendation."

That made Derek clamp his mouth although he was itching to say something back to the two teachers. Draco had a way of intimidating people, although Derek wasn't intimidated, but Draco sure shut Derek up real good. Without a word Derek angrily shoved Draco and Hermione away and went back into the castle. 

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"Thank you."

Draco jumped at the sound of Ginny's voice when he passed by the dimly lit corridor leading to his sleeping quarters. He quickly spun around until his eyes adjusted to the dark and found the petite form looming in the shadows.

"What the hell are you doing, Weasley?" he spat angrily once his heartbeat went back to normal, "Trying to give me a heart attack so you won't be talked about in school anymore when I suddenly keeled over and died?!"

"Hmm...that's a wonderful thought," she pushed herself away from the shadows and stood just a couple of meters away from her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. "Anyway, I didn't come looking for you tonight to get you killed."

Draco raised an eyebrow, "No, you didn't. You just thanked me--for what exactly?"

"For stepping in when you and Hermione did this afternoon," she gave a slight shrug, "I honestly don't know what I would've done if it hadn't been for your intervention. Derek's such a prick. I don't want him messing Colin's face and have _his_ face--and other parts of his body--be rearranged once Colin, myself, Janelle, and Twyla were done with him."

"So you have a violent side to you as well. Hmm...better store that in my memory bank just in case," he teased, grinning slightly at her.

"You're making fun of me, Professor. You really shouldn't. I do get a very nasty temper when I am being made fun of," she replied candidly, a shadow of a grin hovering over her lips as well. "Anyway, that's all I came here for tonight, to personally thank you. I already thanked Hermione earlier while you two were still there with us after Derek left. I couldn't really thank you in public without raising any more eyebrows from the small audience that gathered around to watch the outcome of Derek and Colin's staring fest."

"You're welcome, Weasley. Now go before somebody catches you," he made a shooing movement.

"Like anybody other than _you_ and probably Hermione and those other two new teachers passes by here," she rolled her eyes skyward and shook her head where loose locks of red hair escaped the ponytail she made.

"Hmm...a student who knows exactly _who_ passes by these halls...I think I should give you detention for that," he was in full teasing mood right now, and he didn't care if he was teasing-slash-flirting with a student. It was Friday night, nobody was around, and he was only a year older than her. Hell, screw the rules! He was actually having some fun here!

"Hey, if my detention requires me to sit down and mark stupid essays written by students that couldn't even talk about _other_ topics, then fine," she grinned broadly, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at Draco, "Bring it on, Professor," she challenged.

Draco chuckled, "You really think my lower year students write very poor essays, Weasley?"

"Honestly?" she looked a bit apprehensive. Although at times she could easily forget that Draco was no longer a fellow student but a teacher here at Hogwarts, still there was a nagging voice at the back of her head telling her that he was no Hermione; with her friend she could talk freely and discuss any school-related matter without worrying about her reaction, but with Draco it was different.

"Yes, honestly," he nodded. He sensed that Ginny doesn't trust him wholly yet, and he couldn't really blame her. They were playing a game; take one step forward and take two steps back.

"Well, some of them certainly knows what they're talking about..." Ginny went on telling him what she thought of his other students' essays. It took them a good hour standing there in the dimly lit hallway, only a few feet apart, talking like two old friends who never had a history of family grudge or feud.

Draco listened attentively to what she was saying, occasionally letting his thoughts stray and be mesmerized by her beauty. Her opinions mattered to him simply because they were all worth listening to and following. After she made a comment about the poor essay writing capabilities of his other students, he started paying close attention to each of his students and found out that she was indeed right in her assumptions. Since then he has worked hard to make sure that each of his students learned how to write and present a well-written essay that deserved full marks.

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**A/N:** this chapter didn't make sense to me while I was typing it up. I think I am fighting off the dreaded writer's block for this one now...uh-oh...but fear not, I'm sure I'll bounce back from it. as always let me know if this one sucked or not really. thanks!

**A/N2:** I know, I know, usually after the a/n I thank each and every reviewer personally, but after not being able to update in like 3 days I received quite a lot of reviews and...since it's already 2:15am right now I am kinda getting very sleepy to answer each and every question asked in each of your reviews, but hopefully I did get to answer some of your burning questions--or maybe after this chappie is posted and I'm all caught-up, hehehe

**PhoenixRae sends her thanks to the following reviewers:**

_cherries_, _hermmes_, _Anyanka_, _hasapi_, _wowsergirl_, _Jade Stellar_, _MYSTIQUE_, _tigereyes320_, _Jenn_, _Xela_, _beautifuldreamer_, _The Dragon Guardian of the Sea_, _Crystal_, _Faltering Hues_, _txt-eva_, _lama_, _allieshee_, _Miss Marauder_, _kellyanne_, _Arella Hallo_, _happy kid_, _SAngel_, _MellisaAdams_, _December's Girl_, _Loves-Kiss_, _Angel-Hiragizawa32_, _August_, _Laura_, _G. Zan_, _KeeperOfTheMoon_, _slytherin-cool_, _Angie_, _izzy_, _Weasley Pride_, _mavis_, _Bess_, _Hunter_, _Beccs_, _DaRkShAdOwS_, _Polgara_, _Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey_, _*karly*_, _Hannah4Daniel_, _Sharlene_, _charismatic_, _myobgirly_, _Starry_, _vanns_


	14. Mr X

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** okay, the previous chapter wasn't up to par with my previous ones...writer's block's a real bitch to fight off! maybe this one's gonna suck too...anyways, you peeps decide...

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**XIV. Mr. X**

_Dearest Harry,_

_ Hello, friend. How are things going at the Daily Prophet? Gone to watch another Quidditch game elsewhere? How's George? Is he still a pain to work with? I hope he's behaving. I enjoyed that piece you wrote about Viktor Krum--and I enjoyed George's side comments too. I thought you deleted them? Anyways, if you did then your piece would just be another boring piece of news like whatever else is there in the paper. No wonder a lot of people likes your column a lot--you and George make a good team._

_ Anyway, I am not writing to you to praise you about your awesome work (as always). Actually I need some advice, and it's not about school. I could've easily gone to Hermione if it had anything to do with school._

_ I'm having some boy problem. And before you start protesting, it's not Derek. Jeez! Hell will freeze over first before I start mooning over that prick again! I'm sure Hermione updated you already on what nearly happened last week between Derek and Colin, right? I know Mione often keeps you guys posted on the goings-on here in school. In fact she owls you guys more often than I do, and I sincerely apologize for my lack of correspondence._

_ Anyway, back to the real reason for this letter._

_ Yeah, like what I already said, I need your advice about...uhm...well, let's just call him Mr. X for now, alright? You see, Mr. X is...uhm...how should I put it? He's a boy here in school. You can say he's sort of a bad boy (he projects that image), but not really. I mean, he _was_ a bad boy before, but now he's changed. I see him everyday and we talked a lot. Heck, on rare occasions we even flirt with each other and treat each other like we've been friends forever when truth be told this year was the only time we really got to know each other._

_ I saw a change in him soon after the incident with Derek during our first Quidditch game. He was so worried about me and I was touched by it. I mean, here was this guy who gave no care to me none whatsoever during the entire time we've known each other (not really know-know each other, but we've been interacting with each other on and off my whole time here at Hogwarts) and all of a sudden he started fretting over me. Could a leopard change its spots? I think _this_ certain leopard changed his spots, Harry._

_ Out of all the people I know here at Hogwarts, _he_ was the last person I expected to open up to._

_ Yes, Harry, you read it right. I opened up to him. I told him stuff that I never told anyone before. Not even you or Hermione knew about it nor any of my brothers. I mean, even though things changed between Mr. X and I, he was still a complete stranger to me, and yet there I was pouring my heart out to him. And you know what he did? Oh goodness, Harry! I couldn't believe it because I never expected someone who was as cold and harsh as him (at least, that was the kind of person I knew him from before) would be so gentle and caring!_

_ I opened up to him, told him things that I kept bottled up inside me, and I broke down in front of him. I just bawled like a baby in front of him and...and...and he comforted me, Harry! He took me in his arms and let me cry myself until I was out of tears. He spoke of some soothing words and some encouraging words. Words of reassurance of some sort, and since that night things between us changed some more. I still hate him at times because there was still some of his old self in him, but when we happen to be alone together and nobody was around to see us...oh, he's just a sweetheart! All flirty and friendly! It's like as if he cares for me, like _really_ cares for me._

_ When I was still with Derek I never felt any of this with him. Sure I fancied myself in love with that selfish bastard, but Derek never made me feel safe and well cared for like Mr. X. He listens to me._

_ I know he likes me. Well, I think he likes me and I'm starting to really like him. I'm half scared outta my wits here, Harry. I can't really, completely fall for Mr. X! It'll be for all the wrong reasons, I tell ya. I don't know how serious he is and...he hasn't made his intentions clear yet, but I think he's striving for us to be friends. Why he wanted us to be friends I honestly don't know! He never wanted to be friends with me before, what changed now?_

_ HELP!_

_ I am so confused right now I don't know what to make of things. Should I ignore this forming attraction of mine for Mr. X or should I pursue it? A friendship with him could be pursued, no questions asked about that, but a real commitment type of relationship?_

_Your ever so confused friend,_

_Ginny_

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_My confused Ginny,_

_ George is doing okay. He's still cracking up jokes and pulling some practical jokes on some of our unsuspecting co-workers who are all wanting to strangle him because of all the gags he is pulling on them. I'm doing alright too. Haven't gone out of the country to cover some story yet, but I think we will be sent over somewhere in Europe before the holiday._

_ Now on to your problem concerning Mr. X (are you sure you can't tell me his real name? I promise I won't squeal). You two never talked to each other until this year? How come? And he's a reformed bad boy, you say? Is he the same year as you or what? C'mon Gin, give me some hints here!_

_ Anyway, I'm not really good in giving out advices. Why don't you try talking this out with Hermione? She's a girl. You're a girl. And this is considered a girl talk subject! But since you came to me for help, I guess I'm bound to help you out._

_ Alright, so you never felt like whatever it is you're feeling now for Mr. X when you were out with that prick, Boones (honestly Gin, what in the world did you ever see in that prat?!). You said he cares for you? Maybe he does. And no, leopards can't change its spots--as far as I know anyway, but a person can change either for the better or for the worse. If your Mr. X was a former bad boy who was reformed, then I say he changed for the better. But just be careful, Ginny. Just because he started showing a great big deal of interest in you doesn't mean that he won't go back to being the bad boy that he was before._

_ I hope I am helpful enough. I can't really tell you much since you don't want to reveal Mr. X's identity! It'll be a whole lot helpful if I know _who_ we're talking about here, Gin. But you want to keep this Mr. X a secret...for now. You better tell me who the hell he is once you got everything sorted out._

_Your wondering who Mr. X is friend,_

_Harry_

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_My wondering friend Harry,_

_ I can't tell you who Mr. X is without worrying that you might flip out once you find out his identity! And thanks for the advice. I'll try and talk to Hermione about Mr. X. I still don't know if she won't flip out once she figure out _who_ I'm talking about._

_ She's a smart lass, you know? She'll figure it out right away._

_ Anyway, I'm going to make this short. Lunch is almost over and I just need to send this to you right away before I forget with all these homework and projects assigned to us!_

_Love ya always,_

_Ginny_

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_Dear Ginny,_

_ Me? Flip out? Why? Is Mr. X Draco Malfoy?! Are you out of your freaking mind, girl?! I know he changed this year, but deep down he's still the same Malfoy git who tormented us for the past...oh, for over seven years!_

_ Anyway, I'm hoping against hope that Mr. X is _not_ Malfoy. I think I'll have a heart attack if I find out it was him. But I need to get some lunch so I'll talk to you later._

_Your disturbed friend,_

_Harry_

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_Dearest Disturbed Harry,_

_ Don't worry too much about Mr. X's identity. No matter how much you bother me I won't spill my Mr. X's identity. And whether or not it was Draco Malfoy, you'd have a heart attack anyway knowing how much you (like all my brothers) hates to see me go out on dates and whatnot!_

_ Anyway, so many things to do right now. I'll do my best to talk to Hermione about Mr. X. I'll keep you posted though on what's going on with me and him. If he's not into a serious commitment type of relationship, then I'll just settle for his friendship. Either way I know I'll get it. Take care of yourself and don't worry your pretty little head off, alright?_

_Love ya lots,_

_Ginny_

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**A/N:** after that crappy chapter I wrote and posted last nite, I figured I better stop writing for now, but then this idea of Ginny owling Harry asking for advice popped into my head (after probably toiling with a few other ideas for this next chapter). hope it's enough and this sorta sets a pace for the fic...i think...anyways, i'm warning you now that I am battling writer's block so it might take a while before I post the next chapter again, but I'll keep you posted on when the next chapter will be out. thanks for your reviews!

**hasapi:** hmm...i'm guessing that i wrote myself into a corner, but i'll soon get myself out of that corner...i hope!

**Angel-Hiragizawa32:** thanks, and probably after this one it'll take me a few days again to post the next chap

**txt-eva:** you think so? Hermione already walked in on them a few chapters back during their almost kiss moment, hehehehe

**SeZzA:** i agree with the too many words to describe Draco! *lol*

**Dreamer:** sorry to disappoint you when i didn't update right away the last time! *lol* but i'm warning you now that after this it might take me a while to post the next chapter

**Twitch:** *lol* Derek will be get his due

**lama:** hmm...seems like you and Xela have a "war" going on *lol*

**Fire Spirit**, **hp fan freak**, **Lady Godiva**, **CelticGoddess81:** thanks for your review!

**KeeperOfTheMoon:** hmm...speechless? *lol*

**MelissaAdams:** thanks for loving that sucky chapter! *lol*

**Weasley Pride:** yep, Derek provides some of the "tension" or "ice breakers" or just plain ol' cause trouble! *lol*

**Crystal:** i think they're starting to fall for each other, but of course they're fighting their feelings off for each other or something like that

**Lady Artemis:** he's always a cutie and a hottie to boot! :::winks:::

**slytherin-cool:** i'll do the best i can to update as soon as i can

***karly*:** hey, hope you have a nice trip! hehehe, lucky you going to be able to soak up some sun! hehehehe

**Hannah4Daniel:** i'll do my best fight off writer's block, and in order to do that i hafta take a few days off updating *lol*

**Loves-Kiss:** *lol* more is yet to come...uhm...just dunno _when_ it'll come tho

**Bess:** why thank you, and i'll try to keep 'em coming *lol*

**Dracos gal:** hmm...i'm still thinking _who's_ going to kick Derek's behind

**Anyanka:** yep, i like your fic. i am reading it like every 7 chapters or so *lol*

**Miss Marauder:** thanks for the thumbs-up!

**sassw14:** i'll do my best to fight it off

**Persephonie:** thanks & i hope i don't get it too

**kellyanne:** who's going to be a winner? uhm...the Giant Squid when it swallows Derek whole! *lol* hmm...that's a nice thought to have! hehehehe

**December's Girl:** just what kinda D/G action do you have in mind? hehehehe

**wowsergirl:** hey, your suggestion just gave me an idea! :::smiles::: thanks!

**xangelcrisisx:** in order for them to kiss more, the mood will have to be set just right, hehehehe :::winks:::

**Junebug:** thanks for the idea! i'll probably be able to work something out based on what you suggested :::smiles:::

**Jade Stellar:** everybody hates Derek a lot and I am thinking of more ways to torment him and...hehehe, well, me just had an idea on _how_ to really torment him some more...i just dunno when _that_ chapter will be out! *lol*

**Arella Hallo:** you really think so? i thought the previous chapter was really bad

**izzy:** i couldn't think much of what should've happened between them, but maybe in future chapters more incident between them will occur

**Lainy:** a kissing scene, eh? hmm....

**Jenn:** hey, that line's from _Casablanca!_ hehehe, not my fave oldies, classic movie, but it has some good lines there :::grins:::

**nicole:** they're next smooching session will occur....uhm...i dunno yet _when_ they're gonna smooch! *lol*

**Sharlene:** *lol* thanks...i'll try and make some more sense of the upcoming chapters

**Hunter:** hmm...maybe Colin & Derek will get to throw a punch at each other...

**Polgara:** yep, Derek's gonna be an ass for sure...and this is a second request for some more D/G action...hmm...what kinda action? kissing action? hehehehe

**Starry:** you think so? thanks!

**mavis:** i stayed up 'til 2am writing the previous chappie because i couldn't sleep really, but nearing the end of my typing up chapter 13 i started feeling sleepy! *lol* Ginny & Draco should start off as friends first...i mean, well, i think that's going to be a nice basis for their relationship to begin with

**Lady A:** thanks for believing in me! *lol*


	15. Let's Talk It Out

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** I am so totally running out of ideas for this fic! *lol* Uhm...maybe not, but all the same I'm battling writer's block.

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**XV. Let's Talk It Out**

Taking Harry's advice to mind, Ginny asked Hermione one weekend before the next match of the Quidditch season if they could talk. In as much as she loved Harry's opinion about everything that has to do with her life, still, there are stuff that Harry couldn't answer for her and Hermione would be the only person who would be able to help her out.

"Okay, what's this problem you're so high-strung about, hm?" Hermione asked as soon as she invited Ginny into her private quarters.

"Wha--did Harry tell you something?" Ginny asked suspiciously, crossing Hermione's private living quarters and made herself comfortable on one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace.

"In our numerous correspondence he mentioned something about a certain Mr. X that has got your knickers in a knot, Ginny, but other than that he didn't tell me anything else," Hermione explained, carrying a tray with cookies and biscuits and placed it on the coffee table where she already had two cups and saucers and a ceramic teapot sitting.

"Oh...so Harry mentioned Mr. X to you already, huh?" she leaned forward and poured herself some tea, "And did Harry mention anything else about Mr. X to you that might help things easier for me to explain?"

"Like you and _Draco_ suddenly becoming fast friends over the course of the last couple of months?" Hermione asked casually.

Ginny's hand shook and she nearly dropped the teapot she was holding. She lifted a pair of shock-stricken brown eyes at her friend, her mouth opening and closing as if to say something but she couldn't find the words to use.

Hermione smiled victoriously. Crossing her legs she leaned her elbow against her knee and leaned forward, speaking in a somewhat hushed tone, "So Mr. X _is_ Draco, hm?"

"I...I...N-no!" she stammered, carefully placing the teapot back on the coffee table and more firmly said, "_No._ Mr. X is definitely _not_ Draco Malfoy!"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. She gave her friend one of her I-don't-believe-you looks and leaned back in her seat.

"C'mon Ginny, there's no need for you to hide this from me. Unlike your brothers and Harry, _I_ won't be having a heart attack if Mr. X turned out to be Malfoy," she assured her worried friend.

Ginny still didn't trust her. God, was she _that_ transparent about _who_ her Mr. X was?! Hell, Harry guessed it was Draco when she told him about her Mr. X in her letters, and now here she sat across from Hermione and her friend deadpanned her mystery guy to be Draco Malfoy as well!

"Look, Mione--" but Hermione cut her off by putting her hand up to stop her from saying any further.

"Gin, we've known each other for years. Remember _I_ was the first one to find out that you were going out with Derek last year? Did I flip out like Ron and Harry when I learned _who_ your boyfriend was?"

Ginny shook her head. Hermione was the only one who kept a level head about the whole Derek situation last year when they found out she was seeing a Slytherin sixth year.

"Of course not, Gin. So you're fancying Malfoy, big deal. I happen to be starting to like the git. Not like-like, you know? What I mean is once you get to know the _real_ person underneath all that icy exterior, well, he's a nice lad."

"Yeah, that he is," Ginny nodded, "But Mione, I _can't_ go and fall for him. We can be friends like you two have obviously become, but something more than just friends? I don't think so."

"Why'd you say that?" inquired Hermione, pouring herself some tea and reached over to grab a cookie from the tray.

"Because...it's just not possible for someone like him to see me as more than just a good time girl...like what Derek obviously saw me as."

"Oh, I don't think Malfoy only sees you as a good time girl, Gin," she took a bite off the cookie and chewed for a while before adding, "But if ever he _does_ only sees you as such, don't worry, I'll straighten him out before he could even say Quidditch!"

That earned a chuckle from her distraught friend. Ginny attempted to pour herself some tea and grabbed a biscuit from the assortment presented before her.

"So do you think I should let whatever feelings I'm having for Malfoy in or should I just keep it at bay for now?" she asked after a while.

"It's all up to you, Gin. It's a bit tricky considering you're a student and he's a teacher, but if you two could be discreet about it and...well," she shrugged and finished off the cookie she was eating. "Just as long as your so-called relationship doesn't interfere with your student-teacher relationship then I say go for it!"

"But what if _he_ doesn't want us to become more than just friends? I mean, he's still a prat sometimes. And in class? Arrgh!" she shivered remembering the times Draco picked on her this week alone in class, "He's such an ass!"

"Since _when_ wasn't Malfoy an ass?" Hermione laughed.

Ginny thought about it for a second and started to laugh herself. "You're right about that. So what you're saying is Draco being an ass is part of who he is?"

"He _is_ an ass whether he's a student, teacher, or just a regular bloke on the street!" Hermione giggled.

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_Dearest Harry,_

_ Breathe a word about Mr. X's identity to anyone and I guarantee you the next time we see each other you'll be breathing through a tube when I'm done with you!_

_ Anyway, you're right about _who_ Mr. X is. It's Malfoy. And I think our Ginny's really crazy over him and like me, she has seen a side of Malfoy that no one has seen before. So BE NICE TO GINNY the next time you see her and act as if you know nothing about Mr. X's true identity. I'm only sharing this with you because you've been pestering me about him in your every damn letter that I just have to cave in!_

_ Burn this letter as soon as you're done reading this. I don't want George to accidentally read this and come barging into school intent on beating the snot out of Malfoy!!!!_

_Always,_

_Mione_

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_My Dearest Hermione,_

_ MALFOY?!_

_ Is she out of her freaking mind?! I knew I had that distinct gut-feeling when I received her first letter of the school year and she started complaining about Malfoy. I knew it. I just knew it that she has a thing for that prat! Well he better not mess up with Ginny or he'll have to answer to me as well as the rest of the Weasley boys!_

_ Now how do you expect me to concentrate when I keep on thinking about Ginny salivating over Malfoy?_

_ Ah, dammit! Thanks a lot, Mione!_

_Your Pissed-Off Friend,_

_Harry_

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_My P-O-ed Harry,_

_ Well just try and concentrate on whatever it is you're doing! And don't be getting mad at me for telling you WHO Mr. X is! Remember _you_ kept on bugging me about his real identity. Is it my fault that Ginny found Draco Malfoy attractive?_

_ Hello?! Next to you back in our school days, Draco Malfoy was the next most sought-after bachelor!_

_ Now I'm irritated too! If this is your reaction to Ginny's new apple of the eye, what more would be Fred, George, Ron, and Percy's reaction would be?! I shudder to even think of _how_ they would take the news!_

_Your Irate Friend,_

_Mione_

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_Hermione Granger!_

_ How the hell could you let that slimey git slither right into my sister's life?! You're suppose to be watching out for her NOT letting her getaway with sneaking off somewhere with Malfoy!_

_ Arrgh! You better stop this before anything else happens! I'd hate to have a Malfoy for an in-law if ever something happens to my sister! And I'm holding _you_ responsible for whatever happens to Ginny!_

_Percy_

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_Percy Weasley!_

_ What the hell is with all this threats, huh?! You're holding _me_ responsible for your sister liking some guy? HELLO?! In case you're too thick in the head, I am not the one who's running Ginny's life! She can like any damn guy she wanted to like for all I care!_

_ And how the heck did you even find out about Ginny's Mr. X, huh? Did Harry tell you? Oooh...I swear I'm going to wring his neck the next time we see each other!_

_ And before I forget, watch your Weasley temper, Percy! Don't be sending Ginny a howler and embarrass the poor girl in front of everyone! I don't think she'll ever forgive you--and me for that matter--if she finds out that you guys know! Hell, if you know then I'm pretty sure Ron as well as the twins knows about it as well._

_ Arrgh! Harry's a dead man! Tell him that the next time you see him!_

_Hermione_

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**A/N:** uh-oh...the secret's out! hehehehe, well, Mr. X's identity is revealed and now Percy's fuming and Hermione's pissed off at Harry for not being able to keep his big fat mouth shut! :::giggles::: okish, I think I'm over my writer's block (either that or I just struck gold and got inspired for some odd reason!)!!! anyways, read, review & enjoy! let me know what you think and keep those suggestions coming 'coz really, I draw some ideas from your fantabulous suggestions & comments even! thanks a bunch!

**hasapi:** I am fond of Harry as well, so I'm going to make sure that he won't suffer from some major heart attack...but I can't guarantee that Hermione won't rearrange his face after this chapter! *LOL*

**Anh D-ao:** nope, Draco doesn't like Derek much...and for some pretty good reasons too! hehehe

**Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey:** yeah, Harry _should_ write an advice column, but then again, will he be good or bad at it?! hehehehe, and I'll check out your d/g ficcy

**Faltering Hues:** thanks for the suggestion, but if I let Ginny tempt Draco into kissing her, it will be kinda like what I made her do in _Mission_, so I don't wanna be repeating it here

**Arella Hallo:** thanks for that piece of advice! and for sure I'll keep that in mind. Mind you, before I ended up with _this_ chapter I think I started it off writing like two different things for it before I finally settled on this one! *lol*

**Yochy:** yep, D/G rules! hehehehe thanks for the review

**xangelcrisisx:** you'll be in la la land, eh? hehehehe, thanks for liking my idea of Ginny & Harry exchanging letters in the previous chappie

**KeeperOfTheMoon:** well this chappie isn't titled 'Girl Talk' but Hermione & Ginny did talk...and also we got a glimpse of Harry and one of the Weasley brother's reaction when they found out about Ginny's Mr. X! *lol*

**DJnickSnood:** this is torture? oh woe is me! *lol* actually I want them to kiss to, but I just don't know _when_ to execute a full snogfest between Draco & Ginny

**SeZzA:** thanks! and yep, Ginny was right about Harry flipping out. he did flip out in this chapter when he found out and now Hermione's out to skin his hide for not being able to keep his big mouth shut! *lol*

**Jenn:** I always pictured Harry to turn out to be another brother to Ginny. They may not end up together but I envisioned them forming a very strong bond of friendship

**Starry:** yep...couldn't think of any more letters from the alphabet to use except for "X" hehehehe

***karly*:** thanks...and don't be rubbing it in that you're gonna be soaking up the sun while I freeze my tush here for another 3 weeks or less!!! arrg! and now that the snow's thawing it's all muddy and my car's caked with it!!! it's going to be a biatch to clean it up! :::pulls hairs out in frustration at the mere thought of a cleaning a very muddy car:::

**kellyanne:** no, you're not insane. just involved somehow, hahahaha. okish, the Squid will have a Derek meal served up to it soon

**Loves-Kiss:** oooh...overprotective mom talking Derek to an early grave! *lol*

**MelissaAdams:** sorry to disappoint you for lack of action in the previous chappie

**Freak like me:** I can't guarantee you for some longer chapters, but I think I can guarantee you an upload every other day or so, hehehehe

**Sharlene:** Harry kinda guessed it but of course he was in denial mode *lol*

**Miss Marauder:** thanks for liking the idea

**wowsergirl:** the idea had something to do with Draco & Ginny kissing :::winks:::

**Redbug:** thanks for enjoying this fic. I tend to mix up some humor and some drama in my fics because it's more fun that way, hehehe

**slytherin-cool:** could it be that Derek hit Ginny with a club in front of the entire school and him acting like a complete jerk around her and her friends? hehehehe, but you're not the only one who's plotting Derek's demiss

**Polgara:** a Disturbed Harry is always a cute Harry as far as I'm concerned *LOL* and a more than friendly kissing action, eh? hmm...it could be arranged...just dunno when, hehehehe

**avapouhi:** is this soon enough for you? hehehe, and yep, guys could be clueless sometimes


	16. Slytherin Vs Ravenclaw

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** If my problem before was that I was running out of ideas, now I got loads of ideas and I dunno how to use 'em all!!! Ain't that dandy, eh? _Jeez!_

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**XVI. Slytherin Vs. Ravenclaw**

November paved way to frost and bitingly chilly weather, but that didn't deter fans of Quidditch from coming out to the pitch that Saturday afternoon to watch between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. It was a tensed game for the slimy Slytherin players; this afternoon's match was the deciding game on whether or not they'd have a chance at winning the House Cup.

"Damn," Twyla hissed, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. "Does it have to be _this_ windy today?" she complained, "I'm so cold!"

Janelle, who was seated beside her, rolled her eyes skyward and shook her head. "Autumn's already making way for winter, my dear friend. And it's already November! It's _suppose_ to be cold," she pointed out as if she was explaining it to a three-year-old.

Twyla glared at her friend and continued to rub her arms to keep herself warm, muttering about wanting the game to be over soon so she could return back to the warmth of the Gryffindor common room. Janelle and Colin merely shook their heads at their complaining friend and rubbed their hands together to warm them up. Ginny appeared a couple of minutes later followed by four red heads and a messy-haired brunette.

"Hey guys!" Janelle smiled up as Fred and George approached her, each twin sitting on either side of her and one of them nudged a cold Twyla aside--to her utter annoyance. She was already enjoying the warmth emanating from Janelle who sat beside her and now she had to be deprived off that warmth!

"Gee, thanks, Fred. I was already getting warm and comfortable beside Janelle and you just have to squeeze your big, fat arse between us," Twyla snapped, her eyes shooting daggers at one of the Weasley twins.

"Awww, poor Twyla turning into a Popsicle," Fred teased, but before Twyla could say something back Fred lifted his gaze and a mischievous glimmer crossed his eyes. "Hey Perce! Your girlfriend's freezing over here! Reckon you sit real close to her and put your arms around her to keep her war--_ooof!_" he was suddenly cut-off when he felt Twyla's elbow connect with his rib.

"Shut-up, Fred Weasley!" she hissed through gritted teeth, her face starting to turn red. "Percy's _not_ my boyfriend and I don't need _him_ to keep myself warm."

Fred merely snickered and shook his head, but he kept on rubbing his side where she jabbed him. It hurt where she hit him!

"Fred, stop teasing my friends, will ya?" Ginny scolded, but she too was giggling as she looked at Twyla's red face then Percy's. She could tell that Percy wanted to strangle Fred for saying something like that out loud; now the entire students at the stands were looking at them.

"Aww, Ginny, you're such a party pooper," Fred pouted, pretending to be hurt but Ginny knew he was just playacting.

"Yeah, whatever," she stuck her tongue out at Fred before shoving Percy down beside Twyla. She asked Colin to move away from Twyla's side and sat Percy down beside her friend--to both of their surprise and irritation.

"_Oy!_ Look! The lovers are sitting side by side!" it was Ron who shouted it out. He and Harry took their seats behind the small group and was saving a seat for Hermione between them who promised she'd be joining them at the Gryffindor stands to watch the game.

"Shut up, Ronald!" Twyla and Percy yelled in unison at the redhead seated behind them.

"What?" Ron grinned, undeterred by the murderous glares Twyla and Percy were sending him. "C'mon you guys, be a good sport! Let's just watch Ravenclaw kick Slytherin's arses."

"Good idea," Hermione piped in. She barely made it to the stands before the start of the game. "I hope you guys saved two seats 'coz I have a friend here who wanted to sit with us today as well," she motioned to her companion who was behind her and shocked her two best friends.

"What the hell's Malfoy doing here?" Harry demanded, glaring at the blond haired teacher.

Hermione ignored Harry's outburst and instead addressed Ron, "Hey Ron, mind if you move in closer to Harry? I want to sit closer to the wall," she asked as she walked in front of her two best friends, ignoring the brunette who following her with his gaze.

"I'm not sitting beside Malfoy, Mione!" Ron whined, obviously displeased at having Draco's company join them for this afternoon's match.

"Relax, Ron. Malfoy didn't want to sit at the teacher's box and asked me where I was going to watch the game from. I told him I am gonna be joining the Gryffindor spectators and he asked if he could come with me," she explained, pushing Ron closer to Harry and sat down beside him with Draco taking a seat next to her.

"I hope you guys don't mind," Draco said, looking at Ron and Harry who were both looking displeased at having a former Slytherin git sit with them.

Ron and Harry mumbled an undistinguishable "Yeah, whatever," under their breaths and ignored Draco's presence all together. The game was about to start and they wanted to see how Ravenclaw kick some Slytherin behinds.

Hermione ignored her friends and poured her entire attention to Draco and the four Gryffindor students who were eager to watch the outcome of the match. Percy was shooting daggers at her and the one time she caught his glare she had a distinct feeling that eldest Weasley brother present was questioning her motive for bringing Draco with her. She merely raised her eyebrow at him in challenge and ignored him for the rest of the match.

Ginny kept on glancing over her shoulder at Draco whenever she had the chance. And she often found a reason to talk to Hermione throughout the whole match. Unlike her brothers and Harry, she wasn't displeased at all to have Draco sit with them to watch the game. She doesn't know why Percy kept on glaring at Hermione and the sudden hostile air she sensed between Harry and Hermione. Something was amiss between this three people, but neither one of them was saying anything to her.

After the first hour of the match Ravenclaw was in the lead with twenty points ahead of Slytherin. As usual Slytherin was playing a very nasty match, pushing, shoving, and kicking the Ravenclaw players so they could score some goals, but Ravenclaw was tough and wouldn't let Slytherin win. Ginny, Twyla, and Janelle were all watching in great anticipation for the outcome of the match. If Ravenclaw wins then Slytherin would be completely out of the running for the House Cup.

Some time during the heated match Twyla's and Percy's hand managed to find one another and entwined themselves together. Ginny noticed this from the corner of her eyes and grinned. She didn't voice out what she saw and just concentrated on the match, but Fred, who was beside Twyla, didn't let this small incident pass without making a fuss about it.

"He's not your boyfriend, eh, Twyla?" he nudged the blond seated on his left side, "Tell me, if he's not your boyfriend then _why_ are you two holding hands like that, hm?" he raised an eyebrow and looked back and forth between Ginny's best friend and his brother who was so red-faced he was ready to pound on Fred.

Twyla quickly pulled her hand from Percy's and started hitting Fred's shoulder--and she was pounding on it so hard Ginny knew her brother would be sporting a big, honking bruise by the end of the day!

"Fred...Weasley...you're...such...a...jerk!" she too was as red-faced as Percy was, but since she sat closer to Fred she got first dibs on beating him to a pulp!

The rest of their group's attention was diverted from the match and watched Fred duck Twyla's beatings. Fred was doing his best to duck here and there from Twyla's aim, but to no avail.

"Hey Percy, have pity on Fred!" exclaimed George who couldn't stop laughing, "Restrain your girlfriend before he sends poor Freddy to the infirmary!"

"She's _not_ my girlfriend, George," Percy hissed through gritted teeth, but his hands were on Twyla's shoulders, restraining the seventh year from further hurting his brother. "Twyla, I think Fred's got the message now, sweetie. Stop beating the crap outta him," he said softly to the girl seated beside him.

"_Oy!_ Perce's called Twyla sweetie!" George exclaimed for everyone else at the stands to hear, causing everyone's attention to turn to the blond girl and red haired young man seated at the very front.

"Perce, if Twyla's not your girl then why the heck did you just call her 'sweetie'?" Ron questioned, a malicious gleam seen crossing his eyes.

Percy ignored Ron's jab and without bothering to think twice he reached over three heads--Twyla's, Fred's and Janelle's--to smack George for attracting too much attention to them. By this time everyone at teh Gryffindor stand was watching the riot the Weasley brothers were causing instead of what was happening at the match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Besides, watching the prankster twins get beat-up by Percy and Twyla was more entertaining than the game itself.

Ginny sat back and tried not to laugh at loud as Percy leaned over three heads to smack George. Fred was squealing like a girl now since Twyla wouldn't stop hitting him. Ron kept on throwing up some snide remarks pertaining to Percy and Twyla which only got the crowd roaring some more. She couldn't believe her four grown brothers would act so...so...childish? And Percy joining in on the fray? She couldn't believe Percy would stoop to George and Fred's level!

Draco couldn't help himself from being entertained by the Weasley brothers' antics. Granted he grew up an only child, he was deprived of this kind of interaction he was witnessing concerning the Weasleys. Suddenly he felt jealousy seep in to his veins. _This_ was what he missed growing up. Hell, even Potter and Granger were enjoying the fun that he was sure they had seen one too many times before since they had been a part of this rambunctious family since their first year at Hogwarts.

"Are they always like this?" he asked Hermione who was enjoying the show Percy, Twyla, and the twins were putting up for everybody's entertainment.

"Oh yeah. Percy's always the butt of the twins' jokes," she nodded.

"One or two of them always ends up being black and blue?"

"Oh, they're not really the violent type. But this time I think Fred and George--as well as Ron--hit a very raw nerve as far as Percy's concerned."

Draco raised an eyebrow and looked back down at the blond girl and the red haired young man, "Percy fancies Twyla, doesn't he?" he looked back at Hermione with his eyebrow still raised.

Hermione merely shrugged and grinned. "We don't really know, but Perce's always had a soft spot for our dear Twyla hence why he was always being teased to her," she explained.

"I see," he nodded and looked back at the foursome beating the snot out of each other. Poor Janelle who was caught in the middle of this fray. His gray eyes then moved further away from Percy and rested on the other redhead seated to his left. Ginny's attention was focused on her brothers and not on the game. She was laughing so hard and leaning against Creevey who had his arm casually wrapped around Ginny's waist; he too was laughing so hard at the scene. Every now and then he would remove his arm from Ginny's waist to snap a picture of Percy and Twyla ganging up on the twins then he would go back to having his arm placed securely around Ginny's waist.

A different kind of jealousy seeped through him this time as he watched Creevey and Ginny together. He knew he had no right to feel this way. They were best friends, for crying out loud! Sure he was a guy and she was a girl; they've known each other since their first year together at Hogwarts; they grew up together and had gotten to know one another pretty well over the years. He had no right to be jealous of the closeness he was seeing the two of them obviously had for each other.

"Your eyes better not be looking hungrily at my sister, Malfoy, or else I'll poke them right out of your sockets," Ron warned, his attention now focused on the blond seated beside him.

Draco snapped out of his trance and frowned at Ron, "What the hell are you talking about, Weasley?"

Ron smirked, "Keep your damn eyes _and_ hands off my sister, Malfoy, unless you want to be beaten to a pulp," he warned.

"Oh sod off, Ronald!" Hermione scolded and reached behind Draco to smack Ron at the back of the head.

"_Hey!_" Ron protested, glaring at Hermione. "I'm just warning your friend here, Mione. I don't really trust this git."

"I know you don't, Weasley. Don't worry, I won't go spoiling your sister's name by _lusting_ after her," Draco replied sarcastically.

"Damn right you aren't!" Ron agreed.

Hermione merely rolled her eyes skyward and tried to watch the game, but she couldn't help but be sidetracked by what Percy, Twyla, George, and Fred were doing.

Needless to say Ravenclaw lost to Slytherin after the latter managed to outmaneuver them a couple of times. Derek didn't catch the Snitch though, but they were still in the lead.

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**A/N:** gosh, gotta love those Weasley boys, eh? since I got quite a few request for some Percy/Twyla, hope you guys enjoyed their scene here. I just love the twins making fun of Percy. sometimes I wish they're my brothers for real 'coz they're just a blast to be with! *lol* anyways, hope you liked this chapter. Draco's here as well, but sorry, not enough action between our fave pairing, hehehehe

**Angel Black:** uhm...I'm not sure if you could run away and marry Draco without having quite a lot of Draco-crazy women kill you! *lol* as for the kissing scene...just hold on, I'm working on _when_ they should snog again *lol*

**Amy:** well there's no Percy/Twyla romance here, but a Percy/Twyla teasing is, hehehehe

**Anyanka:** well Draco's in this chapter...and I'm off to read the rest of the chappies of your fic as soon as I am done uploading this *lol*

**Loves-Kiss:** it's no longer "almost finished" but finished and here it is now! *lol* and I thank all those who are giving me good hints on how to dispose of Derek! *lol*

**Jenn:** are you sure he told? hehehe, well I guess you'll have to find out _how_ Percy found out in the next chapters to come...I'm sure Harry will want to explain what exactly happened because Hermione's fuming mad at him right now :::grins:::


	17. Another Leopard Changing Its Spots

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** I hope you guys enjoyed another dose of the antics our favourite brothers indulged us in during the previous chapter. I miss not having them around so as much as possible I try to insert them in almost every other chapter, hehehehe

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**XVII. Another Leopard Changing Its Spots**

Ginny was walking back from the library when suddenly someone materialized from the shadows, causing her heart to stop and her breath to get caught in her throat. The figure gave her such a fright her throat was too clogged up for her to let out an alarmed shriek.

"Hello Ginny," it was Derek.

"_Jesus!_" Ginny hissed, her hand against her heart, "Are you planning on finishing me off for good, huh? First you hit me at point-blank range with the damn club and now you're suddenly showing up from out of nowhere and scaring me like that!" she scolded, "What the hell do you want?"

"Sorry," he apologized and Ginny nearly had a heart attack.

Did Derek just apologized to her? She must be hallucinating! Somehow she was stuck in a very bad dream that she'd be waking up from in the next couple of minutes.

"I--I beg your pardon, but...did you just _apologize_ to me, Boones?" she questioned, an eyebrow raised and her arms crossed across her chest.

"I believe I just did, Gin," he smiled sheepishly, closing in on her.

Ginny took a quick step backwards. He might have apologized to her but she still doesn't trust him.

"What do you want, Derek?" she asked again.

For a moment he looked uncertain. His eyes kept on moving here and there as if he was watching out for someone--or something--to come by. This didn't sit well with Ginny; not at all, not even one bit. Derek Boones was a sneaky bastard and every word that comes out of his mouth was either a lie or the twisted truth.

"Gin, uh...can we talk?"

"We're talking now, Boones," she jutted her chin, looking down her nose at him. "What is it you want to talk about? Need to insult me some more? What?"

"Actually Gin, I wanted to talk to you about us."

Ginny's eyebrow nearly rose as high as the ceiling, "Pardon me?"

Derek took a deep breath. Ginny wasn't making this any easier for him. He could understand her not trusting him right away, after all those stunts he pulled on her. Hell, even _he_ wouldn't trust himself after all the stunts he pulled.

"I said I want to talk about _us_, Gin, about our relationship and what went wrong, you know?" he gave a slight shrug.

Ginny rolled her eyes skyward and expelled a deep breath, "You and I know _exactly_ what went wrong in our relationship, Derek. _You_ wanted to get into the sack with me and I didn't let you, so you went off and found some other bitch to please your damn hormones!"

"Ouch. That hurts, Gin, that _really_ hurts."

"Save it," she snapped, "Look, you're just wasting my time. If you have nothing of great importance to say, I bid you good night now and don't bother me again," she pushed him aside and walked away, but she was stopped on her tracks when Derek's hand clamped around her wrist.

"Ginny, _please_ hear me out," he begged.

Ginny pulled her hand from his grip and glared, "I said save it, Derek. I don't want to hear it, I don't want to rehash it, in short I don't give a shit about whatever you want to say. It's over, Derek," she took a step closer to him, her eyes holding his gaze and added more firmly, "_We're_ over."

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**A/N:** sorry for the short chapter, but I think this chappie sorta sets the pace for the next twist awaiting Ginny and Draco's relationship, hehehehe :::evil grin::: read & enjoy & tell me what you think...did Derek really changed or is he playing Ginny? hmm....oh, the possibilities! *lol*

**Anyanka:** thanks for liking the Twyla/Percy bit...I wanna interject as much of that in here as possible

**Jackie:** uhm...I don't think Hermione's gonna do any _physical_ harm to Harry, but she'll be sure to make him pay for not being able to keep a secret! *lol*

**Dracos gal:** thanks for liking the letters

**Cactuskitty:** thanks for liking my new characters & the way I re-created JKR's characters

**myobgirly:** well you better read chap's 15 & 16 soon coz here's chap 17!

**Junebug:** didn't I mention that Slytherin won the game? yep, I think I did...it was at the very bottom of the chap before I ended it...hehehehe

**cute-chick107:** oooh...well regarding your situation...unless you want to cause a rift between you and your sis, steer clear from that relationship. well I'm not from America nor am I from England. I'm from Canada. as for my age...well, I won't reveal it on here! *lol* drop me an email and I might tell you exactly how old I am :::grins:::

**string bean love:** I'm insane?! whoa! I've never been called _that_ before! *lol* well I have my moments of insanity when I just update chapter after chapter in like one day! and oh, here's another chapter to add to my insanity :::grins:::

**SeZzA:** uhm...no broken nose coming his way--yet :::evil cackle::: unless of course he puts a toe out of line _then_ he'll have more than just a bloody, broken nose!

**Loves-Kiss:** hmm...I dunno if you're sleeping now or not, but hey, like I promised, here's another chapter before I go to sleep! *LOL* it's a whole lot shorter than my previous ones, but hey, I introduced another twist--I think

**MelissaAdams:** no, you're not stupid, and I'm gonna try and put some more D/G action in the next chapters

**Ishizu-Sango-Halliwell:** hehehe, well I don't think Harry's gonna be beaten up by Hermione...she doesn't have a violent temper...at least that's what I think, hehehe

**LadyPhoenixFeather:** no problem, it's my pleasure to entertain you readers with my take at the HP characters, hehehehe. and yeah, Derek looks and acts like Draco but he's more sinister than the old Draco


	18. Prelude to a Date

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** hmm...well I'm on a roll! *lol* how many chapters uploaded in one day? thanks for reviewing & reading this fic. and I think I might throw in some fluff in this chappie...I dunno yet, hehehehe :::winks::: I just write/type whatever comes into mind for a certain chappie, so we'll see if I could actually get some fluffy romance in this one...

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**XVIII. Prelude to a Date**

Derek hadn't stopped pursuing Ginny since that night he cornered her on her way back to her dormitory from the library. She did her best to avoid him; to tell him to bugger off and leave her alone once and for all, but he wouldn't be deterred. It even came up to the point where she would ask either one of her friends to keep a look out for Derek and warn her immediately if he was any where near her!

"You're losing it, Gin, you're _completely_ losing it!" Colin tsked after Ginny dragged him out of the Great Hall after dinner Thursday night.

"Shut it, Colin. Just keep me company and don't let Derek anywhere near me! That jerk's giving me the creeps," she hissed, darting her eyes here and there to be certain that they weren't being followed by her current stalker.

"As if I'm going to let that prick get anywhere near you, Gin. I haven't gone daft yet. I still remember what he did to you during your first match."

"I don't think anybody would be forgetting about _that_ incident," she said bitterly, turning a corner until they were at the staircases.

"But I still think this is stupid, Gin. You're running scared because your ex-boyfriend suddenly made an about-face and is now stalking you. How pathetic is that?" Colin made the situation sound more ludicrous.

"_Very_ pathetic indeed."

Both friends jumped apart at the sound of Draco's voice who materialized from out of no where. Colin looked like he just had a heart attack when Draco snuck-up on them.

"Good evening, Professor," Colin inclined his head in greeting after he found his voice. "You gave us such a fright sneaking up like that."

Draco stepped up closer to the two Gryffindor seventh years, his hands clasped together behind him. He inclined his head in greeting, addressing both students when he said, "My apologies. I didn't mean to butt-in like that, but I couldn't help it."

"You're entitled to your opinions, Professor, but you should also watch out _when_ you voice them out," advised Ginny.

Draco smiled and nodded his agreement, "Again, my apologies."

"No need, Professor. It's all cool," Colin nodded.

"Great. Uhm, Creevey, would you mind if I talk to Weasley alone?"

"Oh...no, not at all," Colin moved away from Ginny then, "I'll just see you in the common room."

"OK. See you later, Colin," Ginny waved her friend off and waited until he was out of earshot before she turned back look at Draco, "You wanted to talk to me, Professor?"

"Yes, I do. Would you mind walking back with me to my classroom?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow, "O-kay...am I on some sort of impromptu detention here, Professor?" she asked, but her voice lacked the apprehension she was suppose to be feeling at being asked to follow her teacher to his classroom.

"Not really," Draco hid a grin as he led her to his Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, "I just want to discuss a report you handed in."

Ginny fell into step after him. She didn't want to be seen walking side by side with the man rumoured to be her secret lover. She played along with this game he started and followed him to his classroom. There was no report she handed in that he wanted to discuss; he just wanted to talk to her about something and he didn't want the whole school to make a big deal about it, so he had to fabricate a whopper of an excuse just so they could talk.

"Alright Malfoy, what's up?" Ginny demanded as soon as they were inside his classroom.

Draco kept on walking until he reached his table before turning to look at her.

"How are you, Weasley?" he smiled, his face brightening up, making his face look more boyish and innocent (**a/n:** _picture him as Louis in "Anna and the King"--Tom Felton's so adorably cute there!_).

Ginny rolled her eyes heavenward and shook her head.

"Jeez, Malfoy! You could've asked me that outside!" she walked down the rows of desk and parked herself on the one across from his table.

His smile turned into one of his heart-melting sexy grin that almost made Ginny fall off the desk for being the recipient of that particular grin. He quickly transformed from being this boyish innocent to sexy as sin Adonis!

"I suppose I could've done that," he relented, "_But_ if we did then people might start talking--again," he pointed out.

Ginny considered what he just said and had to agree with him. They weren't being gossiped about as much now as before, but neither of them shouldn't take any chances.

"Hmm...so _what_ is it you want to talk to me about?" she asked, bracing her hands on either side of her on the desk and let her feet dangle a couple of feet off the floor.

"Stuff. Haven't talked to you alone since I saw you sneaking around the teachers' corridor."

"Hey, I wasn't sneaking around there," she protested, grinning from ear to ear and not the least bit offended.

"Yeah, right. You were hiding in the shadows waiting on some poor, unsuspecting teacher to scare off," he teased, busying himself with the already fixed papers on the upper right corner of his table.

"I had a perfectly good reason that night to be skulking around in the dark down that corridor, Malfoy," she reminded him sternly.

"Oh yeah?" he stopped fixing the papers and lifted an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah. I went down there to _personally_ thank this wonderful teacher who stood up for me and my friends that day."

"_Wonderful teacher?_" he echoed, "Wow...I never thought I'd hear somebody describe me as such!"

"Who says I was talking about you?" she chided cheekily, "I was referring to _Hermione_, you nitwit."

"Ouch. You wound me, Weasley. You wound me right here," he pointed to his heart and faked a pained expression on his face.

Ginny chuckled and shook her head, "Yeah, I wound you alright, but it isn't your _heart_ that I wounded but rather your enormous _ego_."

Draco made a sour face at her comment. He was slowly getting used to this easy camaraderie he happen to have with Ginny when he least expected it. He knew he had to keep up the stoic facade around her when they are out in public to keep the rumours at bay, but once he had the chance to get together with her in private like this, it was just amazing.

"What are you doing tomorrow night?" he asked quite out of the blue.

"What?" Ginny looked at him skeptically, her eyebrow furrowing at the center of her forehead.

Draco didn't know why he asked her that in the first place. It just felt right to ask her what she was doing tomorrow night considering it was already Thursday and this weekend was a Hogsmeade weekend.

"I just asked you what are you doing tomorrow night," he repeated with a slight shrug.

"Why?" Ginny asked suspiciously.

"Because," he shrugged.

"Malfoy..."

"I just asked because it's the next normal thing to ask," he quickly smacked himself at the back of the head after saying something as lame as that.

Ginny's eyebrow rose a fraction of an inch, an amused smile hovering just over her lips as she watched Draco carefully.

"Just the normal thing to ask _or_ is that a lead-in to you asking me out on a date, hm?" she teased, her small mouth curving into a seductive grin (at least she hoped it _was_ seductive for his sake).

Ginny couldn't believe her eyes when she saw two tiny spots of red appear on Draco's cheekbones. She bit on her bottom lip and giggled. Pushing herself off the desk, she slowly walked up to her teacher's table and stood across from him, her hands braced before her on the flat surface of the table, an eyebrow arched and an expression telling her companion that she was waiting for a reply from him.

Draco was very much taken aback but Ginny's bluntness. He knew she was spunky and direct to the point most of the time, but he has yet to get used to her getting directly to the point without giving him any warning!

"_Me_ asking _you_ on a date?" he managed to look incredulous at least when he finally found his voice to speak, "In your dreams, Weasley," he snorted.

Ginny let out a low, slow chuckle and rolled her eyes heavenwards once more. Shaking her mop of shiny red hair, she cocked her head to the side and gave her teacher a quick once-over before saying, "You're a chicken, Malfoy."

Now _that_ insult didn't sit well with Draco. Nobody dared to call a Malfoy 'chicken' and lived to see the next day to brag about it!

"I am _not_ a chicken, Weasley," he denied heatedly.

Ginny huffed and shook her head, "Yeah, yeah, sure. So, why'd you ask me what I'm doing tomorrow night?"

Draco resumed shuffling some papers that were already neatly piled on his desk to stall for some time. Hell, words just came out of his mouth and he had nothing to back it up with. He was rattling his brain for a plausible excuse to give her, and so far the only one he could think of was...

"Let's go for a round of Quidditch tomorrow night at the pitch," he invited.

"What?" she suddenly lost her composure, "You're--you're kidding, right?"

Draco smirked, "Do I look like the type who kids around, hm?"

Ginny straightened up and crossed her arms over her chest, studying his serious face carefully. Did he just invite her for a game of Quidditch in the middle of November? Was he out of his freaking mind?

"Uh...in case the current weather has frozen your brain cells, it's currently cold outside for us to enjoy a good game of Quidditch," she pointed out a matter of factly.

"So?" he gave a careless shrug.

"Uh, hello? A little reality check here, if you don't mind, Professor. Right now it's probably below freezing point out there. Quidditch season is postponed for the winter season--and for _very_ obvious reasons!"

"C'mon, Gin, live a little!" he cajoled.

_Gin._ He called her 'Gin' again! She was momentarily rendered speechless after hearing one of her nickname slip from his lips so easily. Now _why_ does her name sound so good coming out from that luscious mouth of his?

"Malfoy--"

Draco raised his hand up to stop her from further protesting, "Weasley, I promise you, you _won't_ freeze that cute little tush of yours tomorrow night," he assured her.

Ginny still wasn't convinced.

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**A/N:** uuuh...tell me what you think of this chapter and please be honest with me! after yesterday's sudden burst of ideas today I found myself _crawling_ just to get this out! *lol* actually I have a perfectly good idea for what's to happen next, but getting to _that_ idea I have in mind is giving me a hard time. anyways, I'll try and get the next chapter out ASAP (maybe by tomorrow night at the latest), but for now please read, review, comment, make some suggestions, and enjoy!

**Jenn:** yep, Percy's starting to grow a pair! *lol*

**Amy:** hmm...I'll try and see if I can squeeze in any further more Percy/Twyla action here

**mavis:** you were surprised with the "Mr. X" chap? why? how?

**Xela:** *lol* I'll see what I can do about that Percy & Twyla romance...seems like quite a few people are asking for it

**Faltering Hues:** before we all kill Harry for not being able to keep his big, fat mouth shut, let's hear him out first

**Anh D-ao:** sorry about that, I know yesterday ff.net was acting up and taking forever for the next chappies to be loaded, hopefully today it won't have the same problem

**sassw14:** yep, I'm glad I'm done with the whole writer's block phase *lol*

**Jade Stellar:** yep, Draco's jealous...gotta make him jealous sometimes :::winks:::

**izzy:** I have my moments. there are days that I can finish up to 4 chappies & have them loaded up real fast, and there are days when I can't even finish _one_ *lol* btw, thanks for that little explanation regarding this little _misunderstanding_ between xela & lama

**Surfah:** thanks for liking the plot & how this story's written

**chiLLz:** well Derek's...Derek's a jerk, what can I say? *lol*

**Nicole:** I am working on it *lol* maybe in the next chappie we'll finally get some snoggin' done! (I hope!)

***karly*:** thanks...I'm on a roll here and I better take advantage of it before I get stomped again

**Arella Hallo:** yep, I got an itch yesterday and...well, I needed to scratch it and tah-dah! *lol*

**MelissaAdams:** yep, Gin sure did!

**hasapi:** :::evil laugh::: you're right, :::sings that annoyingly catchy song from _Don't Say A Word_::: I'LL NEVER TELL... :::giggles:::

**Sharlene:** are you sure he likes-_likes_ her or is he up to something...uhm...nasty?

**txt-eva:** so you like the Twyla/Percy goodness, eh?

**Redmeadow:** well I could have Draco, the twins, Harry, Ron, & Percy beat the snot out of Derek :::winks:::

**The Lady of Gondor:** that's what I'm aiming for when I first started this fic (regarding Draco's character); I want him to be unpredictable and Derek...well, Derek's an ass who has some issues he needs to sort out--or something

**Loves-Kiss:** I've been toiling with this chapter since this afternoon, but it took me a while to finally finish it

**Redbug:** word of advice: TRUST NOBODY *lol*

**Yochy:** thanks for liking and here's another update

**Alexia Croft:** you're shocked because you didn't notice it? how? why? anyways, thanks for liking this

**SAngel:** Derek's still going to be around to cause some havoc one way or the other

**Isis:** Mione is swinging single, but I'm trying to pair her up with Harry

**xangelcrisisx:** well this is a D/G fic but with a few sub-romances inserted for...uhm...humour? hehehe

**lilikins:** that's what I intend it to be (regarding Twyla & Percy's relationship) to make it as hilarious as possible...I dunno why...I just love those Weasley boys! *lol*

**Junebug:** thanks, and here's the next chap

**Ishizu-Sango-Halliwell:** thanks

**myobgirly:** I'm trying to get some D/G action done so that's what I'm going to try and _work_ on in the next chapter

**Anyanka:** he's up to no good, that's what! *lol*


	19. the Date

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** OK, I know ya'll are waiting _patiently_ for me to put some D/G action and...well, I'll do my best to get some action between our fave pairings in _this_ chapter. Thanks for bearing with me...sometimes the outcome of what we've been wanting to happen is worth the way--I hope :::crosses fingers and hopes you guys won't be disappointed:::

**PhoenixRae's Notes 2:** just a warning to you readers that compared to the previous chapters, Draco & Ginny's interaction in this chapter sizzles! *LOL* they're exchanging innuendos and...well, although not _that_ graphic, still, I don't want anybody to be offended or anything. DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU! *lol* now read on and enjoy. not sure yet if the innuendos will progress to something more physical or not, but I'll just hafta wait and see what my fingers (and my mind) lets me write. oh yeah, FLUFF ALERT!!! *LOL* not too much though, just enough I guess to satisfy all you people wanting some D/G action! :::winks:::

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**XIX. the Date**

Clutching her robe and her overcoat tightly around her, Ginny made her way to the Quidditch pitch with her Firebolt. She must be out of her noodles for _agreeing_ to go on this so-called 'date' with Draco Malfoy for a quick game of Quidditch tonight! She was walking with her head bent down against the sudden gust of wind that was billowing as she made her way to the well-lit pitch. She could tell that her _date_ was already there; she saw someone wearing all black zooming here and there as she approached.

Ginny didn't make her presence known right away as soon as she entered the pitch. She took her grand time watching the man propped on the broomstick flying back and forth overhead. He wasn't doing anything much except execute quite a few diving moves and some deflector moves that Ron taught her a couple of times (but she often ended up not executing it properly because her nitwit of a brother often yelled at her for not being _graceful_ enough whenever she does try to do it).

Boy, he was _really_ good on his broomstick! Even back when he was still playing Quidditch for Slytherin she noticed just how comfortable he had been on a broom. According to Hermione, Draco showed off his talent as a skilled broomstick-rider during their first flying lesson when he taunted Harry to catch Neville's Remembrall (**a/n:**_ I'm not quite sure if this is the correct spelling, so please pardon me if I got it wrong_), which Harry did--of course--and it was during that time that Harry became the youngest Seeker in a century to play Quidditch. Although he didn't fare well when he first became the Slytherin Seeker in his second year, his game improved over the next five years. Ginny remembered watching a match between Gryffindor and Slytherin last year and her eyes were glued on the blond haired seeker. He was good _and_ way too damn sexy for her own good! It was at that time she realized she was starting to fancy Draco Malfoy. Of course she didn't dwell too much on _that_ obvious fact until months later (like until _this_ year).

Ginny had been watching Draco fly overhead for a good fifteen minutes before he noticed he was being watched. He maneuvered his broomstick towards where Ginny was and just hovered a couple of feet above her.

"You're late, Weasley," he scolded.

"And hello to you too," she retorted smugly before straddling her Firebolt and kicked off the ground to hover at eye-level with him which proved to be damn near impossible to keep a straight eye contact when she kept on bobbing up and down on her broomstick. "You know, you don't have to be crabby on a date. It makes for a _very bad_ first impression and kills off your chance for a second date."

Draco quirked an eyebrow, "Are you hinting that there's a chance for a _second_ date, hm?" he grinned.

Ginny rolled her eyes skyward and shook her head, "You're killing any chance for a second date right now," she smiled saucily before pointing her broomstick downward and swooped at the open chest box housing the Quidditch balls. She made a swift grab of the quaffle and soared back up again.

Draco was greatly impressed at what she did. It was a good stunt that barely many could execute flawlessly. Swooping down at an almost break-neck speed and snatching the quaffle without tipping the chest box was very hard to do. God knows he tried to do what she just did numerous times, but it was a stunt that he didn't want to be reckoned with; he ultimately lacked the grace and swiftness Ginny possessed.

"So, are we playing or are we talking?" Ginny called as she threw the quaffle up and down in the air.

Draco flew to where she was, stopping to hover beside her facing the opposite direction.

"We can play _and _talk at the same time if you like," he grinned cheekily.

Ginny made a face at him and chucked the orange ball at him, "You may not like the words that would come out of my mouth while I'm whooping your cute behind," she grinned mischievously.

Draco cocked an eyebrow at her confidence. He played with the quaffle for a while as she circled her.

"So the youngest Weasley has a nasty tongue too, huh?" he chuckled and continued to circle her.

"What? You think the only nasty thing I got is the Weasley temper to match my red hair?" she taunted.

Draco grinned and inclined his head, "Touché."

Ginny feigned a bored expression (she was far from being bored while she was in his company). "Are we going to play or what? I haven't got all night, you know."

Draco laughed heartily and chucked the quaffle back at her, "Patience is a virtue, Virginia," he quoted and laughed at the face she made at him.

"Whatever, Plato. Since you're too busy being philosophical, I'll make up the rules to the game. First to score 100 goals is obviously the winner. This can be a rough game or this can be a clean game--it all depends on _you_ if you're not too sissy to compete against a girl, "she looked at him smugly before adding, "Winner gets to decide what his or her opponent's consolation prize will be. Fair enough?"

"I'm with you until you said winner gets to decide the loser's consolation prize. Does it have to be that way?" he frowned.

"Of course! Makes the game _more_ exciting," she enthused, "You'll treat _me_ like royalty for a week and you'll also do my every bidding," she grinned.

"You sure about that, Weasley?" he challenged, not liking the idea that she was already planning on what she would be bossing him to do for...did she just say for a _week?_

"You can bet your last galleon on that, Malfoy," she counter challenged.

"In that case, shut your yap, woman, and start shooting the quaffle into the hoops!" he ordered.

"You're on, Blondie!" she taunted and circled him a couple of times before zooming towards the goal posts and shot her first goal for the night. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" she pumped one arm in the air, "Ten to zero!" she called to her opponent who was headed towards her.

"That's cheating!" he whined.

"So? I said we can either have a rough game or a clean game," she reminded him.

"And you like it rough, huh?" he grinned maliciously.

Ginny lifted a shoulder slightly and gave him a sideways glance, her upper lip slowly curving into a seductive grin. "Of course I like it _rough,_" she replied.

The innuendo wasn't lost on Draco. He returned her grin and hovered closer to her, "You'll be sorry you asked for it to be rough," he threatened her under his breath.

Ginny gave him a slow, seductive once-over, her eyes resting on his luscious lips. "Somehow I doubt it," she replied huskily, her eyes slowly gliding back up to lock with his cloudy gray ones.

Damn, but she was putting him on fire! He never dreamed of having this kind of conversation with the always prim and proper Ginny Weasley, and now that he was having it, another part of his anatomy couldn't be helped but feel more excited than the rest of his whole damn body!

"Then I say bring it on...Ginger," he grinned impishly.

Ginny liked the new nickname he came up for her. Returning his impish grin, she leaned more closer to him until their lips were almost touching and replied, "You got it...Blondie."

For the next two and a half hours the Quidditch pitch was filled with Ginny's squeals of delight and Draco's hearty laughter whenever he was able to outmaneuver his worthy opponent. He managed to score fifty points and nearly tied Ginny's eighty points if it hadn't been for him losing concentration as Ginny's hair came loose from the ponytail she tied it on and her hair slapped against her rosy red face. They zoomed here and there, using only half of the entire pitch to shoot as many goals as they can into one of the three hoops, both of them taking on the position of keeper and chaser to prevent the other person from scoring.

Albeit the bitingly cold weather, Ginny and Draco didn't seem to mind it much. They were both into their game of pick-up Quidditch to pat attention to their rosy red cheeks and almost dried-up lips. It also helped that they kept on moving around at the pitch, that way they didn't feel much of the cold air blasting at them as they moved here and there, ducking away from one another and shooting the quaffle into the hoops.

Ginny was true to her words, Draco realized now. She had a trucker's mouth on her when she was on fire! Draco couldn't believe the words that came flying out of her mouth as she taunted him every time he had possession of the quaffle or whenever she had the ball and was zooming past him, over him, under him, and all around him!

"She shoots. She scores! Yeah!" Ginny cheered when she shot the quaffle through the middle goal post and scored her hundredth points for the night. She was all smiles and very pumped up as she flew back towards where Draco was now hovering looking disheveled and tired, but he was far from annoyed because he lost to a girl. "I won! I won!" she chanted giddily, rubbing her hands together and blowing on them to keep them warm.

Draco smirked and shook his head, "I still say you were cheating," he accused.

Ginny rolled her eyes at him and shook her head, chuckling at his pathetic excuse for losing. Sure she cheated to get her first goal, but after that she won each and every goal she made fair and square, although the game was a tad bit rough every now and then with Draco trying to oust her from her broomstick or her kicking him out of the way so she could get to the goal posts.

"Oh put a sock in it, Blondie. I won fair and square!" she boasted and moved over towards the stand before commanding her broomstick to land on the first set of bench seats.

Draco followed her and landed on the bench seats a step up from where she landed. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," he mumbled and set his Nimbus against one of the seats.

Ginny grinned and did the same with her broomstick, setting it up against one of the seats and parked her frozen behind on one of the cold wooden seats. She kept on rubbing her hands together and blowing on them to keep them warm. Occasionally she would rub her hands against her arm to stop her from shivering.

"So Malfoy, you ready to face a week of being at my beck and call?" she grinned mischievously, looking over her shoulder at him.

Draco smirked and knelt down behind her, his elbow propped on his bent knee, "I can't be at your beck and call, Weasley. I'm a teacher here now--can't show the slightest bit of _favouritism_ towards one of my students. Don't want to be talked about some more," he tsked.

"And you think nobody saw us together like this tonight?" she raised an eyebrow.

His smirk turn into a grin, "Good point," he captured her chin between his thumb and forefinger and held her gaze, "But I don't think anybody would be stupid enough to come out here to watch us."

"Nobody stupider than _us_ you mean, hm?" she grinned back at him.

Draco chuckled, "Yeah, nobody is stupider than the two of us to come out here to the pitch on a cold Friday night to play a pick-up game of Quidditch," he agreed.

Ginny held her breath as she watched Draco's head move in closer to hers until their breaths coming out of their mouths mingled at their sudden closeness.

"You cold, Weasley?" he whispered, his gray eyes suddenly becoming unfocussed as he kept it locked with her warm brown ones.

"A-a little. Why?" she stammered.

"Because if you are then I suggest we go back to the castle and warm ourselves up by the warm fire," he suggested.

A thought entered her mind at the mention of warming up by the fire. "Your room or mine?"

Draco wasn't expecting that kind of answer from her, and his surprised showed in his eyes which made Ginny's grin broaden. Before he could form a word to say she beat him to it.

"I'd say we go warm up by the fire in _your_ room, Professor. We can't have much privacy if we go to mine."

Finally Draco was able to recover from his momentary shock at what she was suggesting, but was she suggesting _more_ than what he had in mind or was she just teasing him to make him feel uncomfortable?

"What would we need the privacy for?" he decided to play along with her. He honestly had no idea what she had in mind with this new game she decided for them to play so might as well follow along and see where it would lead them.

"Oh, you know," she shrugged and wrapped her hand around his wrist, gently pulling his hand from clutching her chin, "We'll need some privacy for this," she closed the distance between them and while she still had the nerve seized the moment and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

Draco was momentarily shocked at this bold action from the petite redhead before him. He wasn't expecting for her to _kiss_ him; what he had in mind ran more along the lines of some more verbal foreplay! But he didn't get to enjoy the kiss before it was over and Ginny was pulling away.

"Not so fast," his hand snaked up and clasped the back of her neck, "I didn't get to enjoy that...and I'm a tad bit cold still," he grinned before capturing her mouth in a kiss.

_Hallelujah!_ Ginny sang in her head as she leaned towards Draco's kiss, her mouth feeling the tantalizing sweetness of his tongue licking her lips, urging her mouth to part (which they did, by the way; she wasn't stupid enough not to have his tongue ram its down down her throat now that she had him where she wanted him to be for a long time now!).

It was a different sensation his kiss brought her. He wasn't as demanding as Derek (and all those losers she had to kiss before she found her prince!) nor as rough. His lips meshed and molded with hers, taking her to new heights with just one kiss.

She twisted her body around so she was facing him, her hands snaking up underneath his robes and felt the soft texture of the expensive (she assumed) sweater he wore underneath to help keep him warm. She slowly got on her knees and was now kneeling along with him as their mouths continued to devour one another. Her hands underneath his robes moved upward still, feeling the broad expanse of his chest that used to cry on a few weeks back.

Draco's hand found their way around her waist, pulling her closer to him--or as close as their bodies could get given the position they were in at the moment. It was sheer heaven to feel her lips pressed against his, her jasmine scent wafting into his nostrils. He must have dreamed of having her in his arms like this one too many times, he never thought that one day his dream would become a reality and that reality was much more sweeter than his dreams could ever bring him.

"I think...we should go back...inside..." Ginny whispered in between kisses a couple of minutes later.

"Hmm?" Draco signed and dipped his head down to trail kisses down the side of her mouth down her throat, making Ginny catch her breath at the sensation his expert lips obviously sent her.

"I said..." she braced her hands on his shoulders, intending to push him away, but he was now nibbling at her neck and making her a bit squeamish, "Malfoy, stop that," she scolded when he continued to nip at her neck, making her completely lose her train of thought.

Draco chuckled against her neck before his mouth made its upward ascent and captured her mouth once more. Ginny giggled as she returned his ardent kisses, but common sense wasn't far behind and she broke the kiss (even though she didn't want to, but she knew she _had_ to).

"I mean it, Blondie. We gotta stop this and start making tracks back to the castle," her hands on his shoulders finally found their urge to push him away, her brown eyes meeting his.

"Do we have too?" he pouted.

Ginny couldn't stop herself from laughing at the childish face he just pulled and placed a chaste kiss on his pouting lips. He tried to pull her back for another round of snogging, but she made sure she was faster than him and pulled away.

"We _have_ to go back, Draco, it's getting late," she said more sternly.

Ginny watched as Draco's facial expression changed from that of pure astonishment. Her forehead creased into a frown and voiced out her concern, "What? Did I say or do something wrong?"

Draco was momentarily shocked to pure stillness when he heard his name escaped those sinful lips he had been ravaging only moments before. She said his name out loud easily, like she had been saying it all her life.

"You just called me Draco," he answered.

"So?" she raised an eyebrow, "You called me Ginny or Gin a couple of times already," she shrugged.

"I like it," he smiled.

"You like my name?" she frowned.

"No. My name. I like it when it comes out of your mouth. And yeah, I happen to like your name too," he added when he saw her frown deepen.

"So what does that mean then?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" it was his turn to frown.

"Do you want me to call you Draco from now on when we're out of the classroom?"

_Yes,_ his mind agreed, "It's all up to you," he shrugged.

"Hmm..." Ginny wrinkled her nose as if to think about it for a while, "I kinda like calling you 'Blondie'," she grinned.

"_Blondie?_" he looked aghast.

Ginny threw her head back and laughed. "Don't worry, silly. I'll only call you Blondie when no one's around. Most of the time I'll just call you Malfoy," she assured him.

"So you won't call me Draco, huh?" he looked disappointed.

"Aww...poor baby," she teased, "Maybe when you _really_ annoy me then I'll call you by your given name."

"Promise?" he looked hopeful.

"Hmm...I'll _try_," she grinned, "Now, let's go back to the castle because it's freezing here!" she pulled away from his embrace and got up, straightening up her robe and picking up her broomstick.

Draco took his time getting reading, his gray eyes watching the energetic redhead before him. He couldn't believe what just happened was for real. _God, I hope if I'm dreaming please don't let me wake up,_ he prayed silently as he grabbed his Nimbus and shouldered it.

"Ready?" he asked.

Ginny did one last inspection of her robes and grabbed her Firebolt, looking back at him with a huge smile plastered on her face, "Ready," she nodded.

Together they walked back to the castle. They kept their distance from each other even though they were both itching to walk back hand in hand; they had to be more careful now lest they were seen by some unsuspecting student or faculty staff member. They mostly talked about their high-powered game of pick-up Quidditch with Draco giving Ginny some advice and learning a few tricks from her in return. They reached the Entrance Hall and stopped there, facing one another to bid each other good night.

"Well, this is it, Blondie," Ginny grinned, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"Yep, Ginger, this is it," Draco nodded, fixing his Nimbus which was carefully propped on his shoulder. "Have a good evening, Weasley."

"You too, Professor. Thanks for the game and remember our bet," she reminded him before turning her back to run towards the grand staircases.

Draco watched her until she disappeared from his view. He turned towards the direction of his private quarters re-enacting the events of the night. He never had as much fun with any girl he took out on a date before, not until tonight that is. He was whistling a jolly tune the rest of the way back to his room, grinning every now and then as he remembered their agreement shortly before they entered the castle.

This would be one hell of an interesting week ahead for him and a certain Ms. Ginny Weasley.

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**A/N:** _phew!_ another chapter done, and I think this one's longer than the last couple of chapters I posted. anyway, is the action here between Draco and Ginny enough for you guys? not much fluff, eh? well, it's their first date and...hmm...didn't want it to be all too mushy and stuff! that's just totally _not_ the Draco & Ginny character I am writing about in this fic of mine! *lol*

**December's Girl:** I know I postponed the D/G action you've all been waiting for for far too long...how's the action in _this_ chapter?

**VuruNeno:** I dunno about the chapter 50 one, but I'm gonna be working on the next few chapters in a while...and thanks for liking the P/T ship--I wasn't sure people would actually like it when I first wrote about it, but to my utter surprise they were an instant hit! *lol*

**Wizzabee:** well one thing's for sure: NOBODY'S GOING TO DIE IN THIS FIC! *lol* somebody might get hurt every now and then, but absolutely no death scenes!

**Faltering Hues:** don't worry, Ginny's knight in shining armour will be there to the rescue! and I just can't seem to stop myself from writing chapter after chapter (I think I better take advantage of it while it lasts *lol*) and yep, a flirty Draco is a cute and sexy Draco *lol*

**Cactuskitty:** yep, Derek is indeed bad news...and quick! finish your English project or else suffer the consequences of not getting good marks because you're being sidetracked! *lol*

**sassw14:** the Quidditch match between Draco & Ginny has been playing in my head since I wrote that chapter when Ginny tried out for the beater position and she was alone at the pitch doing some flying & Draco was watching her

**Isis The Goddess Of Life:** I think I should've titled the previous chapter _Prelude to a Kiss_ instead of _Prelude to a Date_ *lol* but hey, look! they kissed in this chapter! hehehe, and yep, I think the Harry/Hermione coupling's cute

**Hunter:** Derek's up to no good, that's for sure. and look, here's the Quidditch match!

**Jade Stellar:** *lol* uhm...yep, he likes her butt among other things about her

**tigereyes320:** well here's what happens during their date

**Crystal:** I don't think they froze their arses off too much

**meLisSa:** is this soon enough? hehehehe

**Xela:** I hate writing clichéd scenarios...uhm...hopefully this Quidditch game date of theirs ain't clichéd, hehehehe :::winks:::

**txt-eva:** _this_ is what Draco got planned for 'em

**Anh D-ao:** here's the next chappie

**SeZzA:** yep, they sure did take their time before they got together *lol*

**Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey:** he's playing at something he might use against Draoc & Ginny in the near future...and tah-dah! here's their date chapter! *lol*

**Alexia Croft:** I agree with you that Draco's a hottie, and here's their date at the Quidditch pitch :::grins:::

**Nicole:** is the snogginess in this chap enough to last you until their next encounter alone? hehehehe

**avapouhi:** somebody's going to wring Derek's neck. as for who told Percy, here's a hint: IT'S SOMEONE WE ALL KNOW (not Harry, _not_ Harry :::wink, wink:::)

**Jenn:** why can't their date be good?

**lama:** AD/MM ship (took me a while to figure out _who_ these two are *lol*)...maybe not 'coz they're hardly in this fic *lol* and as for me re-reading the chappies I posted...yeah, I do, and I quickly notice my mistakes but I'm just too lazy to go back and correct 'em *lol*

**Arella Hallo:** here's the outcome of their Quidditch game in the middle of November

**Miss Marauder:** I'll do my best to bring the Weasley boys back. I do happen to enjoy their company and writing about 'em too

**kellyanne:** a date of sorts that ended up in them snogging and...uhm...becoming more closer to each other than before *lol*

**Hannah4Daniel:** yous wants more? well here's more! *lol*

**Eva Coremans:** here's the next chapter to satisfy your appetite for this fic (for now, anyway) hehehe

**Nissy:** thank you so much for your review!

**slytherin-cool:** don't be trusting Derek any time soon--that's a hint for ya :::winks:::

**KeeperOfTheMoon:** hehehe, here's the update!

**MelissaAdams:** nope, you're not being too sappy...just a romantic! *lol* uuuh...what's the diff between the two anway? :::grins:::

**Yochy:** in a round-about-way he _did_ ask her out

**Sharlene:** good you cleared that out that you were referring to Derek *lol* (of course I knew you were talking about Derek) and Draco's got a thing for Ginny's ass, remember what he did to her when she was trying out for the team? hehehe

**Kodomo Cow:** I'm planning on getting Hermione together with Harry and Percy's got a life...hehehe, he's being teased by the twins mercilessly because of Twyla...

**wowsergirl:** it's good to be hyper sometimes, hehehe

**lilikins:** yup, you got that right. he asked her out on a date!

**Laura:** here's more for ya

**myobgirly:** what do you mean?

**Polgara:** Ginny's got a good head on her shoulders

**Alli:** is there enough fluff here? hehehe

**DaRkShAdOwS:** because I wanted it to be a somewhat _original_ date. I mean, most of the time when they go to dates in other stories it's always Hogsmeade, but I beg to differ, hehehehe


	20. Ginger Claims Her Prize

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** so ya'll want some more fluff, eh? well, I'll _try_ and give you some more fluff...just don't wanna overdo it with the fluffiness for this fic! *lol* thanks for all your wonderful reviews!

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**XX. ****Ginger Claims Her Prize**

The following week sure tested Draco's patience and restraint. Agreeing to become Ginny's slave for a week was both frustrating and hilarious up to a point. It was fun to watch Ginny squirm whenever he got too close for comfort to her after putting him through a very tight situation especially when they were in class.

One of the task Ginny asked him to do for an entire week was to do all her class assignments, but of course he had to set his foot down on that one.

"No. I _won't_ do it for you, Ginger. How are you going to learn if you let _me_ answer all of this?" he fanned the piece of parchment with the questions Snape made his class copy and answer.

"Fine, fine, I won't ask you to _do_ them, but you _will_ help me with them," she bargained Monday night when they 'happen' to meet each other in the library (they talked to each other Sunday after dinner and agreed to meet in the library the following night for him to receive the first task she would ask of him).

He was fine with that. Helping her do her assignments meant he could spend as much time with her after dinner in the library _without_ people gossiping about them.

His second task was something he wasn't too comfortable doing, but he had to do it at least a couple of times over the course of the entire week that he owed her.

"I have to call her _what?_" Draco's eyes nearly bugged out of his sockets when she told him what she wanted him to do when they met each other at the library Tuesday for night two of their study session.

Ginny lifted her head from the History of Magic report she was writing and gave him an innocent smile, "Hermione," she replied simply.

"You can't be serious, Gin!" he sat back in his seat, flicking his quill pen on top of the Transfiguration problem he was helping her out with.

"Why not? _You_ call me Ginny," she pointed out.

Draco made a face at her, "That's different, Weasley."

"How so?" she frowned.

"God, do you _have_ to make this hard for me?" he ran his hand over his face and tilted his head back. He can't possibly ask _that_ of him. He'd quit referring to her as 'Mudblood' for all he cared, but to actually address Granger by her give name? "It would be more _personal_ if I address her by her first name," he reasoned out with her after a while.

"By personal you mean you're _friends_ with her?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"And aren't you two friends? I mean, you seem to have gotten close since the beginning of the school year."

"We have to. We're colleagues now."

"So?"

God, she was impossible! And stubborn as well. In the end he relented to calling Granger by her first name in private.

"But everywhere else I won't," he bargained.

"Thanks, Blondie."

He thought she was about to kiss him with the way she was smiling proudly at him, but since they were in the library with too many people for witness, she remained where she sat across from him, but this time she slouched down a bit in her seat and stretched her leg out until her foot touched his shin. She removed her shoe and slowly ran his socked foot up his shin, over his knee, then down the side of his thigh before finding its resting place between his thighs just a few inches from his nether region; with the slightest of movement from him or her and her foot would've made full contact with _his_ broomstick!

On Wednesday she cornered him before first period and asked him to quit picking on Gryffindor too much and to point out his Slytherin students' mistakes in class (and pick on them as well). She said they were humans after all who aren't so damn perfect! It was an easy enough task for him to do, however he didn't want to show to his former Slytherin housemates that he was favouring Gryffindor over them; he was sure Derek would find something fishy about that and start yet another round of rumours that would probably feed the school grapevine for months on end!

Draco tried his best to not pick on his Gryffindor students, but sometimes it was hard not to--especially if some of them are being too thick in the head! Ginny was even one of those he picked on, but it was purely for fun on his part. He just wanted to see how she would react once he picked on her a lot that day.

Ginny nearly strangled him Wednesday evening after dinner when they happen to run in to each other on her way back to her house. All evening long she was shooting daggers at him from across the Great Hall whenever their gazes happen to collide.

"_You_ did that on purpose!" she accused as soon as she saw him.

Draco feigned ignorance to what she was talking about and frowned down at her, "Did _what_ on purpose, Weasley?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Malfoy. And that's not part of the deal either!"

"We made no such deal, Ginger," he reminded her.

"Oh yes we did, Blondie," she hissed.

Draco raised an eyebrow, "As far as I can remember you just asked me to pick on Gryffindor _less_--it didn't include me _not_ picking on you."

"_Arrgh!_ You are soooo going to pay for this, Blondie," Ginny threatened. at him before she walked away, her chin jutted into the air and he could tell smoke coming out of her nostrils and ears. She was pretty ticked off at him for turning the tables on her--if only for a little bit. 

By the next day he did his best _not_ to pick on Gryffindor as much. Ginny was still miffed and he found it rather amusing to watch her sulk at the very back of the room, her lips pouting as she tried to drill a hole right through his skull. It also proved to be a test to see just how focused he was with the subject he was teaching when all he could think about was kissing that pout off her lips. He was jolted back to the present time by a couple of his students when he happen to trail off right in the middle of his explanation because he was too preoccupied with Ginny Weasley's tempting lips. From the corner of his eye he noticed Ginny chuckled at his expense. He made a quick swept of the room before ending his lecture and quirked an eyebrow when his gaze collided with Ginny's, challenging her to make fun of him or do whatever it was she planned on doing to him. After all, she _did_ make a threat to him the night before.

Draco anticipated Ginny's getting back at him the whole day Thursday _and_ Friday, but when she made no intention of retaliating, he started to worry. He still met with her at the library Thursday night to help her with her assignments, but she didn't make any mention of _what_ she would do to get even with him. Their deal was almost off (after his class Friday afternoon he had fulfilled his duty to the reigning Queen of Quidditch--it was the name Ginny gave herself shortly after she bragged to Hermione how she kicked _his_ arse the previous Friday evening who later on told him during one of their mealtime conversations) and yet there was no sign of Ginny planning on letting him off the hook.

During dinner that night, Draco couldn't stop from glancing at the redhead enjoying a wonderful dinner and conversation with her friends over at the Gryffindor table.

Hermione noticed Draco's lack of interest in his food and followed the direction of his gaze, quirking an eyebrow and looking back questioningly at the blond seated beside her. Nudging her colleague, she leaned closer and whispered, "Ginny suddenly grew an extra red head beside her or what?"

Draco tore his gaze from the redhead and frowned at the brunette beside him, "Huh?"

Hermione shook her head and rolled her eyes, "You've been ignoring your _delicious_ food all night and your eyes couldn't be pried away from Ginny," she said matter of factly, "What's up, Malfoy?"

"I'm kinda scared, Granger," he admitted without thinking twice about what he was saying.

Hermione's brown eyes nearly bugged out of her sockets. Her ears were probably deceiving her. She didn't just hear what she thought she just heard Malfoy admit. Draco Malfoy _scared?_ Since when?

"You're pulling my leg here, right?" she asked not wanting to believe what she just heard.

"Can't you take me seriously for a change, Granger?" Draco frowned, irritated that for once in his life he _was_ serious with her and she didn't want to believe him. God, was he _that_ much of an arse back in their school days together for her to distrust him?

"As soon as pigs can fly, sure, why not?" Hermione gave a careless shrug then went back to slicing her roast beef covered in thick, dark brown gravy and smelled ever so good.

"Granger..." Draco hissed.

Hermione heard the desperate tone in his voice and decided to give him a break. Maybe he was serious after all, and with the way he was watching Ginny the whole time they were in the Great Hall, she knew something was about; but _what_ could he possibly be scared of?

She set down her knife and fork and looked back at him, "Okay, I'll bite. _Why_ are you scared?"

"Because I don't know what Weasley's got planned to get even back at me for picking on her in class yesterday," he explained, keeping his voice as low as possible and took a quick, cursory glance at the petite redhead who was now listening intently to whatever Creevey was saying.

"What?" she was having a hard time suppressing a grin, "You're scared because you don't know what Ginny's got cooked up for you?"

Draco made a face at her. She still wasn't taking him seriously! _Damn, why do women have to be so difficult?_ he asked himself irately.

"Hermione, I won't normally be telling you this if I'm not worried. Over the course of the last couple of months since I started getting to know Ginny, I came to the realization that she is as every bit as conniving as her twin brothers," he explained through gritted teeth.

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa!_ Did--did you just call me _Hermione?_" she looked like she have just seen her own ghost after she realized what her former school nemesis just called her.

"Will you just focus here, Granger," he snapped.

"I will, but _after_ you tell me that you just called me by my first name," she insisted.

Draco let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes skyward, "Why is that hard for you to believe, huh?" he questioned.

"So you _did_ call me Hermione!" she was all smiles and feeling very giddy, "My, my, Malfoy, you're actually keeping your word to Ginny that you will _try_ to address me by my given name."

"You knew about that?" now it was his turn to be bugged eyed.

"Of course I do!" she boasted, "I helped Ginny think up of some of the things she could ask you to do for her for a week."

"_Aha!_" he snapped his fingers and a mischievous grin suddenly appeared on his face, "So then _you_ know what Gin's got cooked up next," he looked hopefully at her.

"Now _that_, my friend, I can't disclose with you. You see, Ginny and I, we talk, but when it comes to her cooking up some devious plan to make _you_ pay...let's just say that she knows we've gotten close over the last couple of months since the new school year began and that she's kinda weary of trusting _me_ with vital information such as the one you're asking from me."

Draco raised an eyebrow and looked at her pointedly, "In a nutshell you have no idea," it wasn't a question but a statement. _Jeez! Why do women have to beat around the bush instead of just saying directly?!_ he was slowly being introduced to the fine workings of the feminine mind, thanks to Ginny's good friend and confidant.

"You got that right," Hermione nodded and went back to finishing her roast beef with a side of mashed potatoes and some veggies.

= = = = = * * * = = = = =

"So, did he bug you about it?" Ginny asked later that evening when she decided to stop by Hermione's room to chat.

"Uh-hm," Hermione nodded, crossing her legs underneath her on the large, comfy sofa facing the fire while nursing a mug of hot chocolate.

"And?" she prodded.

"And I didn't breathe a word about it," Hermione winked.

"Good," Ginny was smiling like the Cheshire cat, pulling her legs up closer to her chest and propping her chin on top of her chin, "I just hope he won't have a heart attack when I tell him."

Hermione chuckled and raised her mug to toast her, "Good luck, Gin."

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

**A/N:** allllrighty! not much excitement in this chapter. it's just me setting up the pace I guess (or something like that) *lol* well actually...hehehe, yep, this is another lead-in to something unexpected that even Draco's boxers' tied up in a very tight knot 'coz he doesn't have a clue _what_ Ginny's got planned for him to do. anyways, thanks for all the wonderful response I received for chapter 19. I'll try and insert some more fluffliness and snoggings in the next chapters to come.

**hpfan:** I hope you liked chapters 19 & 20...and did I leave you hanging again in this chapter? hehehe, I believe I did!

**Ishizu-Sango-Halliwell:** were the fluff in the previous chapter enough to keep 'em warm? hehehe :::winks:::

**izzy:** Ginny's good in Quidditch, well, based on how Draco sees it anyway, hehehe

**Crystal:** oh, I doubt it got frozen...whatever "it" is! *lol*

**Faltering Hues:** glad you liked the 'action' in the last chappie...uhm...well, not much action in _this_ one, but I'll be working on _when_ their next encounter will be

**wowsergirl:** hope you did great on your finals. and yep, spring is coming...although right now with our weather here it doesn't look like spring's anywhere in sight!

**Xela:** oh please, DON'T take off _your_ clothes! *LOL* now if Draco does take _his_ clothes off I won't be complaining :::winks & evil grin:::

**jop:** thanks for the review!

**Anh D-ao:** yep, so many possibilities, but I can't really divulge anything right now & ruin what I got planned for the rest of this fic (which, to be quite honest, I have NO IDEA!!! *LOL* I just write whatever comes to mind and hope it makes sense with the rest of the fic, hehehehe)

**meLisSa:** hmm...well i'll probably be posting one chapter a day...unless it's the weekend then I can spend as much time in front of the comp as I can, hehehehe

**laura:** so you liked the fluff, eh?

**SeZzA:** hmm...Ginny didn't really ask him to do much, just some simple tasks but her _ultimate_ task is.... TUN-DUN-DUN-DUN...hehehehe, you'll just have to wait and see

**Miss Marauder:** well it will be too cliché-y if _Draco_ would kiss her since in the previous chapter during their near-kiss-scenes it was always _him_ who wanted to go for it, so I flipped it around and made _Ginny_ kiss him

**Mystical Starlight:** :::laughs::: nope, you didn't scare me at all. thanks for reading & enjoying my fic

**Sharlene:** hmm...I think the both of them have some ass-fetish going or something :::cackles:::

**Cheater531:** well here's some more for ya, and hopefully by tomorrow I could get another chapter out

**spunkygabi:** well _here's_ what happened next after their date

**Anyanka:** to answer your question in order in which they were asked: a) MUM'S the word for this one; b) gossip will always be there; c) Derek has another evil trick cooked-up under his sleeves

**nicole:** thanks, and I do try to get back to my reviewers as best as I can. I like to keep in touch with you guys if it's just through here coz if it hadn't been for your feedbacks, then I won't have the will or incentive to go on with this story

**Jenn:** :::laughs::: it's all cool, don't worry about it

**Alli:** is this soon enough?

**Starry:** you've been waiting for this chapter since...uhm...since probably from the very beginning of this story? hehehehe

**VuruNeno:** I'll try and get their arguments all the more lustier in future chapters

**Lady Godiva:** someone is _bound_ to find out, but what he or she will do about the information they know is all up to them...hehehehe, meaning I won't really tell much :::grins:::

**Kodomo Cow:** I'm beginning to get the impression that all you people were waiting for the snog-fest between Draco & Ginny...glad ya'll liked it! hehehehe

**myobgirly:** yep, it was the new Draco that reacted when she called him by his given name

**Redbug:** no problem, and here's the next chapter--enjoy!


	21. Blondie's Final Task

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** sorry 'bout the cliffhanger in the previous chapter. I figured _that_ would be the best way to end that chapter--keeps you peeps wondering _what_ exactly is it that Ginny & Hermione concocted as Draco's _ultimate_ task.

**PhoenixRae's Notes 2:** uhm...in later part of this chapter things will get a tad bit 'racier' than usual so consider yourselves WARNED! uhm...well, I think the rating for _this_ chap should be R to be on the safe side :::winks::: hehehehe, Ginny's gonna have her fun with Draco now and she's going to enjoy every second of it! :::evil grin:::

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

**XXI. ****Blondie's Final Task**

Another Hogsmeade weekend. Hogwarts timed it this year for the end of November. Draco had been _impatiently_ awaiting Ginny's final task that she wanted him to do. She skipped their usual date at the library last night and he was left to wonder if she was too mad at him for picking on her the way he did Wednesday afternoon or if she wasn't feeling well...but he saw her follow Granger towards the latter's private quarters so she could not _not_ be feeling well.

He watched Ginny over at breakfast this morning. She looked way too chirpier than usual; his stomach butterflies started fluttering about and doing somersaults. He hated being put in suspense! Asking Granger again over breakfast wasn't any help either, like last night when she couldn't even provide him with the slightest bit of _hint_ as to what Ginny had planned for him.

"Are you joining us at Hogsmeade, Professor?" Hermione asked on their way out of the Great Hall after breakfast.

"What for?" Draco snorted. He wasn't in his best of moods this morning having had a sleepless night thinking of what Ginny was planning. He couldn't come any where _near_ what the stubborn redhead could possibly ask him to do for his final task of the week (which should've ended yesterday, but since she never gave him a task Thursday evening when they got together, he was still indebted to her to do _one more task!_).

"You could do some Christmas shopping while we're there," she suggested casually, "You _are_ going to buy your mother and father a present this Christmas, aren't you?" she turned and looked at him expectantly.

"I already bought Mother a gift. As for my father..." his voice faltered and let out a sound that was between a snort and a sneer, "Lucius doesn't like Christmas much. And to hell with him and gifts! He never bothered to give me any gift of his own choosing. It was always Mother who bought his gifts for him."

"Oh," Hermione stored that tiny bit of information away and kept on walking back to the corridor leading towards the new teachers' quarters. "So...are you by any chance going back to your place for the holiday?"

Draco took his time answering. They must've walked fifteen steps before he replied, "No."

"Jeez, that took you long enough," Hermione rolled her eyes and kept on walking, storing yet _another_ vital information at the back of her head.

"Why are you asking me all these questions anyway? It's not like you really care what I do and where I stay over Christmas."

"Now, now, Malfoy, don't be too cranky!" she scolded good-naturedly. 

Draco rolled his eyes in frustration. "Is there a point to you following me?" he demanded irately. 

Hermione raised an eyebrow and gave him a funny look, "I'm following you _because_ we're head towards the same direction. Remember my living quarters is in the same place as yours, hm?" 

She had him there. Of course she was following him because their living quarters are located in the same area. How stupid could he be for asking something as stupid as that? 

Hermione was inwardly amused at the power Ginny had over Draco. He was ready to bite anybody's head off if they were unfortunate enough to cross his path. 

= = = = = * * * = = = = = 

Enjoying a mug of butterbeer each at the Three Broomstick, Hermione shared her earlier encounter with Draco with the three seventh year girls who joined her there. 

"Oh Gin, he could've skewered a wild boar with his glare! He was just ticked!" Hermione giggled. 

Janelle and Twyla, who was just then updated about Ginny's 'date' with Draco and the tasks she asked him to do, sat opposite the two close friends and joined Hermione in a fit of giggles. 

"I never thought I'd live to see the day a girl gets under Draco Malfoy's skin!" Janelle confessed. 

"Well now you have. Cheers!" Twyla raised her mug and clinked it with Janelle's. 

"Thank you! Now all I'm waiting for is the right man to come along and sweep me off my feet then I'm all set for life," Janelle grinned and downed her drink. 

"Mm, speaking of _Mr. Right_, Twyla, have you asked your parents yet if you could stay with us over the holiday?" Ginny asked. 

Twyla made a face at her, "What does Mr. Right got to do with my staying over at the Burrow?" she questioned. 

"Oh, you know, Percy's going to be there and you'll get to see him again," Janelle shrugged. 

"So?" Twyla tried to act disinterested, but she couldn't stop herself from blushing which only worsened as her three friends teased her to Percy. "Stop it, you guys. Percy's just a friend. I don't fancy him _that_ way," she denied. 

"Yeah, sure," Ginny chided. 

"_Seriously!_" Twyla insisted. 

"If you say so," Janelle chuckled, "Anyway, Gin, _when_ are you gonna tell him?" she changed the subject back to what they were talking about before they were side-tracked. 

"As soon as I get the chance," Ginny replied confidently. 

"And _how soon _is that?" inquired Twyla who was now greatly relieved the attention wasn't on her anymore. 

"As soon as I possibly can." 

"Like _right now_, you mean?" Hermione asked. 

Ginny frowned at her, "No. How can I? He's not even here." 

"_Now_ he is," Hermione's head gestured towards the entrance. 

Three pairs of eyes turned to the entrance and true enough there stood the blond teacher they had been talking about. He was scanning the place in search of an empty table when Hermione waved him towards their table. 

"Mione, _what_ are you doing?" Ginny hissed when Draco started towrads them. 

"Making it easy for you. What do you think?" she smirked. 

"But _I'm_ not ready yet!" 

"I thought you said you are?" Janelle frowned. 

"I am," she admitted. 

Now the blond chaser was even more confused. 

"Gin, it's either you're ready or you're not. You can't be both! So make up your mind!" Twyla scolded. 

"I already have. I'm ready, but when it's so unexpected like this...I'm not," she admitted. 

"Oh brother," Janelle and Twyla rolled their eyes skywards and shook their heads. 

"Gin, it's now or never girl. He's coming over this way so ask him _now,_" Janelle cajoled. 

Before Ginny could protest any further, Draco was already standing right behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and and raked her gaze upward, but he wasn't looking at her; he was looking at Hermione.

"Fancy seeing you here, Professor," Hermione said as soon as Draco was nearby to hear and reply to her.

"It got boring in the castle," he answered with a slight shrug before turning to the rest of Hermione's companions. "Ladies," he inclined his head in greeting, his gray eyes looking at Janelle and Twyla and purposely overlooking Ginny who was right in front of him.

"Hello, Professor," Janelle and Twyla chorused.

"Care to join us, Malfoy? Or are you in such a rush to even sit down and chitchat with us?" Hermione invited.

Draco looked at the table occupied by four girls, one of them being a Muggle-born professor whom he was known to have despised all his school boy days. He didn't know exactly _what_ he was doing here. All he knows was he couldn't stand it being locked up in the castle any longer _pretending_ to write up next week's class discussion. Hell, he was already caught-up with his class schedule for the rest of the year he could teach his students without the aide of his scheduler.

"I don't want to intrude," he declined.

"Oh, you're not intruding, Professor," Janelle replied, "We're just recapping the events of this past week," she added with a toothy grin.

"Ah, girl talk," now he _really_ wanted to get away. Ginny was still ignoring him while her friends were trying to engage him in a conversation that he might or might not enjoy discussing with them.

"Nonsense! We're done doing some girl talk," Hermione waved her hand, "Now we're on to discuss some topic that requires some male opinion."

Ginny groaned inwardly. _God, Hermione, let him go away. He obviously wanted to go, so let him go!_ she wanted to plea with her friend. Although she appeared to be ready to ask him to do the final task she had planned up, now was not the time nor place for her to tell him about his final task. A lot of people for witness and she wouldn't be comfortable asking him with her friends present. She had this whole seduction scenario all planned up to get him all worked out before she dropped the bomb, but Hermione, Janelle, and Twyla were messing it up for her.

= = = = = * * * = = = = =

"Did she tell him already?" Janelle whispered as she huddled closer to Twyla on their walk back to the castle from Hogsmeade.

"I don't know. When I last looked they were just walking and saying _nothing_ to each other," Twyla replied, a bit miffed because Ginny hasn't got up the courage to tell Draco Malfoy the final task she had planned for him to do.

"Man, what _is_ taking her so long?"

Hermione ran up to the two friends who were a few paces ahead of them (she hung back with Malfoy on the walk back until the paths cleared and no other students could see him and Ginny walking back to the castle together _without_ any chaperone).

"I think we better move quick," she told the two seventh year blonds.

"Why?" Janelle and Twyla chorused, frowning at Hermione's decision to leave their friend alone with Malfoy.

"Because our darling Ginny needs some privacy, that's why," Hermione replied back.

"Why? What does she need the privacy for?" demanded Twyla, "Besides, I wanna see Malfoy's reaction when Ginny finally tells him what his final task would be."

"Yeah, me too," agreed Janelle.

"Honestly you two," Hermione rolled her eyes in frustration and pushed the two girls forward, "We'll soon find out what Malfoy's reaction was _after_ Ginny told him. Now let's go. Quit looking over your shoulders because Ginny knows and it's only making her more nervous," she reminded as she fell into step behind the two blond Gryffindor Quidditch players.

"_Why_ would she be nervous? I mean, I thought she said she was ready to ask him already!" Twyla pointed out.

"In case you two have forgotten, Ginny maybe gutsy sometimes, but deep down inside she's still the same shy little girl we all knew from years before! Now move along you two and quit looking over your shoulders!" she scolded and turned Janelle's head to face the path ahead of them.

= = = = = * * * = = = = =

Draco knew that something was up from the moment he walked in to the Three Broomstick and saw Granger waving him towards their table. All three young women--excluding Ginny--looked very excited for some apparent reason. He didn't want to join their little group at the pub, but Granger, Isaacs, and Harris wouldn't let him leave. Ginny was unusually quiet the whole time they were at the pub; she only joined in on their conversation to share her opinion about whatever harebrained topic Granger or one of the two other girls could think of discussing and decided to tweak his mind about his opinion of whatever it was they chose to discuss (honestly he couldn't remember what were the topics they talked about because there was _a lot_ of them; they just jumped from one subject after the other without warning him of the sudden change). Ginny still wasn't talking to him no matter how much he tried to draw her in to the conversation.

She was still pissed off at him for what he did Wednesday afternoon in class. _But that's just ridiculous!_ his conscience argued, _She can't still be holding a grudge against you for picking on her in class!_ he wished so too. It was just a pure, harmless fun, _why_ would she be so mad at him for that?

"G--"

"B--"

They spoke at the same time and stopped at the same time when they realized the other was going to say something. They both waited for the other to continue, but neither one of them did. Finally Draco has had enough of this silent war crap Ginny obviously started. In as much as it wounds him to do it, he knew he owed her a sincere apology for acting like an ass Wednesday afternoon.

"I'm sorry," _God, why is it so hard for me to do that?_

Ginny stopped walking and faced him, "What did you just say?" she questioned.

Draco stopped walking too and turned to face him. He took a deep breath and held her gaze. She was going to milk him for every drop he was worth. Hell, he had this gut-feeling that she wouldn't let it get past her that he just _apologized_ to her.

"I said I'm sorry," he shrugged.

Ginny stared at him for the longest time. She made him nervous just by doing that. He couldn't tell if she accepted his apology or if she would forego with this silent war raging between them. Nothing about her facial expression nor her eyes told him of what she was thinking about.

"Are you _really_ sorry?" she asked after a couple of minutes lapsed.

_Hell._ She was going to make him grovel, wasn't she?

"Yes, I'm _really_ sorry," he nodded.

Again she was silent. Nothing about her facial expression betrayed her real emotions. He thought she would just give him a very long once-over look then walk off, but what she did next surprised him. It was so unexpected that he didn't know whether to be glad or scared shitless because she had a wild card in her hands and she was giving him her best poker face.

Ginny decided to play with his mind some more. She could tell this situation wasn't making him any more comfortable than he should be; she might as well make some more fun of it before dropping the bomb to him.

She knew the path Hermione chose for them to use to go back to the castle was secluded and hardly anybody passed by this way; not a lot of student was aware of this hidden path leading back to Hogwarts. Taking advantage of their somewhat semi-secluded surrounding, she closed the distance between them until she was standing toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose with the handsome devil himself. She would have her fun _now_ after her friends tried to sabotage her well-laid plan earlier at the Three Broomstick.

Draco's entire body stiffened when Ginny's warm breath fanned his lips. The little vixen was up to no good, and yet it felt so damn right what she was doing right now.

"Am--am I...am I forgiven now, Ginger?" he stammered as he tried to steady his quavering voice. God why does she have to wear that tantalizing perfume? It was simply driving him wild with want!

"Mmm..." Ginny murmured and chuckled when she heard Draco's surprised intake of breath when she boldly traced his lips with her tongue.

"Hell, Weasley..." he hissed under his breath, his arms snaking around her tiny waist and hauled her closer to his body. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

For her reply she gave him a wide, seductive grin and continued tracing his lips with her tongue, her arms wrapping around his waist too, closing around his back. Her hands rested just above his buttocks, slowly working her fingertips down until each hand were cupping each butt cheek. Draco gasped for breath once more and tried to capture her mouth for a kiss he had been craving for, but Ginny duck her head to the side and started trailing her tongue down the side of his mouth down to his throat, her hands squeezing his buttocks until she felt him jerk against her; his throbbing manhood pressed against somewhere between her tummy and nether region.

He was hard as a rock! She almost feel sorry for him for what she was about to do...

"_Ginny..._" he hissed through gritted teeth. She was torturing him with her touch and her mouth. She nibbled at his neck and she felt one of her hands releasing his well-squeezed butt cheek and ventured...Draco gulped audibly when he realized _where_ her hand was going. He closed his eyes and counted one to ten, trying to ignore the soft touch of her wandering hand as it rested at the crux of his arousal.

He was caught somewhere between heaven and hell with what this brazen redhead was doing to him!

She stopped nibbling at his neck and pulled her head away, a seductive grin still playing on her sinful lips as she looked back at him, "What?" she asked innocently and her hand oh-so-gently closed around his manhood.

"Gin, I'm warning you now, either you stop what you're doing right now or go ahead and let me off this misery you're putting me through," he stated simply, hoping she would concede and pick his latter choice.

"Why Malfoy, you're a very _hard_ man to please, aren't you?" she grinned mischievously, her hand on his crotch still driving him crazy!

"Weasley..." he hissed, his gray eyes ablaze with his pent-up lust for her and the will to hold on to his sanity and not embarrass himself in public!

"You asked me a while ago if you're already forgiven," it wasn't a question, but Draco nodded in agreement while he tried to ignore her hands (one on his front and the other squeezing his behind). "Well I have...and as for your final task..." her voice trailed off and her head slowly moved closer, her eyes focused on his lips.

Their lips were just a mere breath away from each other when Ginny forego his lips and went up on tiptoes to whisper in his ear, "You're going home to the Burrow with me for the holiday," she whispered before disentangling herself from him.

She stepped out of the circle of his arms and left him standing there, dumbstruck at the shocker she just gave him. Grinning mischievously she walked the rest of the way back to the castle whistling a happy tune.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

**A/N:** :::evil cackle::: am I evil or AM I EVIL?! hehehehe, awww...poor Malfoy left all alone with a...uhm...woodie? so guys weren't expecting that, were you? you thought Ginny concocted something for him to do that was worse than death? is it disappointing? intriguing? or plain ol' not so clichéd? let me know what you think 'coz while writing this chapter I just enjoyed the little seduction game Ginny played on our poor, unsuspecting DADA teacher...

**Polgara:** well Derek better keep his big mouth shut if he knows what's good for him! *LOL* and how'd you like the way Draco & Ginny flirted in the latter part of _this_ chapter?

**Loves-Kiss:** hmm...is there some fluff here in this chap, ya think? hehehe

**myobgirly:** I know shouldn't have stopped where I did in the previous chapter, but that's the beauty of it...got ya'll thinking _what_ Ginny got planned to do on Draco

**Hunter:** I think you've been waiting for them to kiss since...uhm...can't really guess, but maybe since they first started to flirt with each other? :::grins:::

**cute_hik007:** thank you!

**SAngel:** of course all is well, hehehehe

**wowsergirl:** :::laughs::: advanced classes are _never_ easy as far as I'm concerned. I don't think I really need to tell you what's happening with Draco...but as for Derek...I think he's taking a holiday for now :::evil grin:::

**MelissaAdams:** if Ginny told him she was pregnant & claimed _him_ to be the daddy, I'm sure Draco will suffer from a _major_ stroke! *lol*

**Beccs:** did I keep you waiting for the next chapter long enough? hehehe

**Cactuskitty:** now don't be hurting yourself by smacking yourself every two seconds! *LOL*

**N'Isil:** I love Draco too when he's being _very_ flirty. as for Derek...well, he'll make an appearance later on...don't wanna ruin Draco & Ginny's fluffy moments now, do we? hehehe

**Faltering Hues:** I wonder what is it about this story that excites you to read it (",)

**Kilmeny:** if you liked the wicked Ginny in the previous chapter, I hope you enjoyed her again in _this_ chappie...making poor Draco all horny and all then leaving him like cold turkey! *LOL*

**nicole:** what Ginny had up her sleeve wasn't something really...uhm...well, it wasn't some very complicated task to do...but then again, wouldn't going to the Burrow and spend time with Muggle-loving people be complicated for a guy like Malfoy?

**December's Girl:** I think Ginny did get to warm him up...but not in his room :::winks::: hehehehe

**Ishizu-Sango-Halliwell:** well...uhm...is what Ginny did devious enough for ya? :::grins:::

**hasapi:** the reason why I post new chapters like everyday now is because I'm enjoying writing this fic so much that I can't stop thinking about ideas for the next chapters

**string bean love:** wow...you're freakishly obsessed with this fic? uhm...should I be scared or should I be proud? hehehehe

**The Dragon Guardian of the Sea:** well, Ginny did that just for the hell of it (I haven't seen that episode of _Everybody Loves Raymond_ and I rarely watch that show). I think it would be fun to rattle Draco's cage & keep him in suspense 

**Trixie-Guest:** thanks for liking my style, and look, you didn't have to wait too long to read what happened next!

**Ali Lee:** thanks for liking the D/G pairing here

**Lady Godiva:** yep, I heard that curiosity killed the cat :::winks::: and...well, let's just say that Ginny and Draco will have _another_ obstacle to cross once someone finds out

**Crystal:** he did get _part_ of what Ginny planned for him, hehehehe

**Anh D-ao:** hehehe, well if you're blushing from what Ginny did to Draco in the library in chapter 20...uhm...well, I could just imagine how you reacted when she did what she did to him in _this_ chapter! *lol*

**Xela:** I'm gonna try and get him to take his clothes off in _this_ fic...but...uhm...well, hehehe, we'll see if he'll eventually get to take _anything_ off :::wink, wink:::

**Eva:** oh I _did_ have loadsa fun writing this chapter...hope you have fun reading it too

**Nicole:** hehehe, yep, probably. I'm from Canada. Where are you from?

**KeeperOfTheMoon:** *lol* _how_ can Ginny be pregnant when they haven't even slept together yet?

**Arella Hallo:** nope, no need to tell me that. and...uhm...well, Draco didn't suffer from a heart attack here...maybe from just some _major_ hard-on! *lol* :::blushes::: whoa! I'm soooo bad *LOL*

**avapouhi:** here's more, more, more, more

**Lainy:** I'll sure try to keep 'em coming as soon as I can

**Jane:** here's what she got planned for Draco

**slytherin-cool:** hehehe, it's all cool. sometimes I like calling him by his last name as well...and as for Ginny's plan...well, here it is!

**Wizzabee:** thanks! and here's the chapter to answer your question

**Redbug:** whoa! lucky you! uhm...maybe not, but at least you don't have to go to school or work *lol* no snow here for me today, but the temps are really freezing!!!

**Cheater531:** I hope this one is as good as the previous one

**Kelsey McCartney:** I had to do a cliffhanger for the previous chap...to keep my readers on the edge of their seats, hehehehe

**Jade Stellar:** whoa! are you a psychic or something? hehehe, but then again, whenever Derek's in the pic, there's always bad news that follows him

**Sharlene:** uhm...well, there's no need for me to tell you when you already read the answer, hehehe

**spunkygabi:** I know not a lot of peeps enjoyed the cliffhanger in the previous chappie

**me:** *lol* no need for threats. I update one chapter a day (or two to three chapters a day depending how pumped-up I am :::winks:::)


	22. Last Minute Hogsmeade Trip

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** :::clears throat and grins widely at the readers::: hiya'll! how'd you like that bit of action in the previous chapter? no snogging, but...well, Ginny was a bit _frisky_, wasn't she? hehehehe and to _**Loves-Kiss**_, thank you girl for editing this chapter and probably the next chapters to come--I hope :::keeps fingers crossed:::

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**XXII. ****Last-Minute ****Hogsmeade Trip**

Sitting across from the blond drinking his third mug of butterbeer, Hermione still couldn't understand _what_ he was so uptight about. So Ginny told him he would be spending Christmas with her and her family at the Burrow, what was the big about that? She was going with Ginny as well and so would Janelle and probably Twyla, although the latter still hasn't confirmed on whether or not she was going, but Hermione was sure Twyla wouldn't miss the chance to see Percy again.

"So _what_ is really bothering you, huh?" she asked again for what must have been like the umpteenth time since they sat down at the far corner booth at the Three Broomstick.

"Isn't it obvious, Granger?" Draco snapped.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. She knew what he was bitching about for the past couple of weeks now. Ginny finally told him what his final task was--and he flipped out! They only had a week of school left then by next weekend the four of them (five if Twyla's parents gave her permission to spend Christmas with the Weasleys) would be on their way to the Burrow.

"Staying at the Burrow isn't that bad, Malfoy," she tried to appease him, but he merely snorted at her attempt to make him change his mind about not enjoying his time with the Weasleys.

"For _you_ and those two other girl friends of Ginny, but for me?" he raised a questioning eyebrow the took a big gulp of his drink, "Hell, Granger! I'm a _Malfoy_," he stressed-out his last name; the name alone spoke volumes with regards to what they were discussing, "Her brothers would sure like to kick my behind as soon as we reached Kings Cross."

"No, they won't," she told him firmly, "Percy, Ron, and the twins never treated you badly when they were here to watch the Quidditch games with us," she pointed out.

"Yeah, right."

"I mean it," she insisted, "Sure Ron threatened you about poking your eyes out if you ever as much as _looked_ at Ginny, but that's just the big brother in him talking. All six Weasley boys--_and_ Harry--are overprotective of the youngest and _only_ Weasley girl in the family," she explained.

Draco still wasn't convinced. A part of him wanted to rejoice at the prospect of being surrounded by a family who knew what love was and certainly knew _how_ to love, but another part of him was apprehensive. He was never exposed to the kind of family Ginny grew-up in; his was more dark and cold. Christmases at home during his school years was best left forgotten as far as he was concerned. Sure he received quite a lot of expensive presents from his parents and relatives and from what he could classify as his so-called friends, but that wasn't enough. He already decided that he would be at Hogwarts for Christmas and enjoy a peaceful week without students buzzing about, chattering non-stop and lessons to be prepared, but then Ginny changed all that.

He already went and talked to Ginny himself soon after he recovered from the shock of _how_ she dropped the news on him, but Ginny remained firm about her decision and wouldn't concede to _changing_ it.

"A bet's a bet, Blondie. Either you go ahead with it or suffer the consequences," she threatened.

"And what's a fate worse than spending Christmas with _your_ family, huh, Ginger?" he retorted back.

Draco watched her eyes dilated at the underhanded insult he just hurtled at her. He quickly bit his tongue after those words escaped him. Now he angered her, but in a way he rejoiced about it for a week, thinking that by angering Ginny she had changed her mind about taking him with her to the Burrow; but he celebrated too soon.

He received an owl Friday after school. It was from Ginny.

_Blondie,_

_ Gifts are optional for you. I don't know if you ever did any Christmas exchange gift giving at your house, but at the Burrow it's customary for us to do that especially if we happen to have the whole family (along with Harry and Hermione if ever they could come and join us) over during the holiday. Don't buy any gifts unless you feel comfortable _and_ confident enough that you know what kinds of gifts to give each (yes, you read that correctly, EACH) family member and houseguests (I'm referring to Harry and Hermione and whomever else is staying over at the Burrow for the holiday), so to be on the safe side just stick to giving nothing. BUT DON'T YOU DARE BACK OUT OF GETTING ON TO THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS WITH THE REST OF US!_

_Ginger_

It was _that_ letter that got him itching to go to Hogsmeade and search every damn store for something to _give_ (yes, he wanted to give _something_ to Ginny's family) to his host and hostess for the holiday. He wasn't really that bad of a person who doesn't give a damn about others. He does too, only nobody would even guess he was that kind of person with the persona he projected.

"The Weasley brothers aren't the only thing that's bothering me, Granger," he admitted, pushing aside his nearly empty mug of butterbeer and laced his fingers together.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "What else is bothering you? Don't tell me you're still ticked because Ginny left you in some kind of a limb when she dropped the news of your impending visit to the burrow almost a month ago!" she exclaimed, remembering the sour mood Draco had been in _after_ Ginny left him horny with want for her that cold Saturday afternoon; even the chilly winds didn't help Draco much with his _massive_ problem.

Draco scowled at Hermione for having the gall to dredge _that_ incident. He was still a tad bit miffed that Ginny had a good laugh at _his_ expense after pulling that stunt on him, and he still had to get her back for that...but getting even with Ginny for leaving him with a boner in the middle of a semi-secluded pathway to Hogwarts will just have to wait until _after_ the holiday was over and he was back at Hogwarts in one piece--he hoped.

"I'll pretend you just didn't bring _that_ bloody subject up," he glared at her, intending to intimidate the brunette Arithmancy teacher, but Granger merely stuck her tongue out at him and urged him to go on and tell her what else was bothering him.

Draco wasn't quite able to bring himself and asked her outright what his sole purpose was for asking her over to Hogsmeade with him. It wasn't really like him to just come outright and ask someone--a _Muggle-born_--for help; it wasn't very Draco Malfoy-ish.

Hermione drummed her fingers on the tabletop, watching the blond haired git seated across from her to make up his mind on whether or not he would tell her what was the other thing that was bothering him or if she had to stay where she sat until she started growing roots from being bored out of her mind.

"Look here Malfoy, I don't have an entire century ahead of me to sit around here and wait for you to speak up. Either you tell me what's wrong or I walk out--it's as simple as that," she threatened.

"Hey, it's not easy for me to ask what I'm about to ask you, so give me a moment here to gather my wits, will ya?" he snapped back at her, his gray eyes glaring a hole right through the brunette's forehead.

"Oh please, Malfoy, if you're going to ask me for _help_, all you have to do is _ask it!_" she made it sound so...so..._easy!_ That irritated Draco.

"It wasn't as simple as that, Granger."

"Sure it is. Look, it's like this," she paused and cleared her throat, her brown eyes holding his gray ones, " 'Granger, I need help. Would you help me..._please?_' See! It's _that_ easy!"

Draco's scowl deepen. "Yeah, easy _if_ I've been practicing a lot," he snorted.

"There's always a first time for anything," she reminded him matter-of-factly, "Anyway, now that we've established that you're going to ask for my help, _what_ is it that you need help with?" she looked at him expectantly now, her brown eyes watching him intently as she waited ever so patiently for him to take his time and gather his thoughts.

_Well, here goes nothing,_ he let out a strangled sigh and told her what was kind he needed.

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**A/N:** I know, I know, _very short_ compared to the last couple of ones, but I just need to get this out before I jump right in to the chapter(s) of Draco at the Burrow. Anyway, I'm going to take this opportunity and give _you_ my ever so wonderful readers the chance to have a say in this fic. What I need right now are ideas on what kinds of gifts (hilarious or not) Draco should buy for each of the people spending Christmas at the Burrow. I'll make a list of all the wonderful gift ideas you'll throw at me and just read about the result in the next chapters. Remember, a gift for EACH PERSON SPENDING CHRISTMAS AT THE BURROW (in other words, Harry, Hermione, Janelle, Twyla, and the entire Weasley clan! *lol*). thank you all and hope to hear about your wacky gift ideas. 

**Hunter:** hope you enjoyed the events of the last two chapters...I know this one nothing much happened, but I needed to set the pace-up again (or something along those lines *lol*)

**mavis:** hmm...yeah, I suppose I could've made her do that, but...hehehe, well, she _did_ enjoy it! :::winks::: her final task for him surprised you, eh? hehehe...well, I wasn't really sure if people would be expecting that she would tell him _that_ for his final task

**Reagan:** I'll try and write longer chapters

**Starry:** Draco didn't actually become Ginny's slave

**demetre:** thanks for the review and glad you liked chapter 18 & 19

**Yochy:** thanks

**meLisSa:** I'm hoping to get as much chapters out this weekend, but of course I'll be waiting for response from you readers regarding gift ideas so we'll see

**cherries:** yep, _poor_ Malfoy indeed, hehehe

**Faltering Hues:** uhm...yeah! *lol* I just couldn't resist from letting Ginny do that to Draco...it's just really _too tempting to resist!_

**Sharlene:** I told you they have some ass-fetish going on between them! *lol*

**Kilmeny:** oh no, it's going to be a _big_ surprise...but her parents know since she had to give them the heads-up, hehehe

**Cactuskitty:** awww...sorry for exposing your virgin-eyes to that graphic description of Draco & Ginny's escapade in the previous chappie, hehehehe

**Polgara:** yep, he'll (Derek) eventually do that, but for now we'll leave our lovebirds to have some fun on their own

**Wizzabee:** well sometimes "good girls" are soooo damn BAAAAADDDD!!! *lol*

**izzy:** hope your teacher didn't catch you! *lol*

**wowsergirl:** I try my best to add as much as I can every time

**Lady Godiva:** uhm...well, not much action & suspense & drama *LOL* (J/K) in this chapter

**Ali Lee:** neither can I! *lol* I'm so excited about writing the Burrow chap(s) I can't wait!

**Nicole:** 4 words: THANK-YOU-VERY-MUCH! hehehe

**Kodomo Cow:** are you sure it's just the brothers that's going to put Draco through some very difficult obstacles, hm? hehehe

**ashes:** thanks so much!

**Miss Marauder:** yep, you gots the spelling of her name right. and I'm thinking..._yeah..._she's going

**lovey360:** well I'm aiming for a Harry/Hermione pairing in this fic...as for Ron...well, I'm not sure if he'll end up being paired up with anybody, but that's not written in stone yet, I might change my mind and get him together with somebody from out of the blue! *lol*

**kellyanne:** me, naughty? :::puts on an innocent face::: REALLY?? hehehe, well, it was _Ginny_ who was being naughty and I just went along with her and made Draco have a _hard_ time *LOL*

**hasapi:** we all have our moments. sometimes I go about everyday trying to figure out an idea for the next chapter and couldn't think of any, so I get stuck which sux (_hey!_ that rhymed! *LOL*)

**me:** *lol* no need to borrow Hermione coz I update as often as I can (which sometimes is every damn day! *lol*)

**Loves-Kiss:** *lol* thanks for helping me out with the editing...my other beta (_**Blu Misterie**_) is currently busy with schoolwork and working on her fic as well, but mostly it's school she's busy with

**omelette du fromage:** thank you so much for liking my stories. I am reading "All I Need" right now and you'll know soon enough what I think of it once I'm done reading it, hehehe

**Mystical Starlight:** hope the old man didn't hit you too hard with his cane! *lol* thanks for the review!

**Cheater 531:** thanks, and I'm excited to get started on the Burrow chap(s)

**Alli:** thanks! and I'll check it out as soon as I'm done reading the other fic I'm reading in-between writing this chapter! *lol*

**dreamofTF:** thanks for liking this story, and I update like one chapter a day (except on weekends, I tend to update like more than one chapter sometimes, hehehe)

**MelissaAdams:** you call what Ginny did to Draco _nothing???_ *lol* well, you're right. they didn't snog or anything much, hehehehe


	23. to the Burrow

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** well last chapter wasn't really that much exciting, but I needed to get that out because although it was a short one, it plays a significant part in this story...anyways, on with the story now!

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**XXIII. to the Burrow**

"Ready, Blondie?" Ginny asked with a knowing smirk (she had gotten so good at imitating the famous Draco Malfoy smirk that Draco himself couldn't help himself from being impressed with her).

Draco let out the breath he had been holding and looked down at the petite redhead who came up beside him as the students were filing out of the castle, "Can I back out now and feign being sick or something so I can't go?"

Ginny made a sour face at him, "There's no backing out _now_, Professor," she reminded him before going off to join a waiting Janelle who was being entertained by Colin.

"Nice move, slick," Hermione commented when she came up from behind her colleague.

Draco frowned at the brunette who joined him, "Stuff it, Granger."

Hermione merely rolled her eyes and shook her head. "So, got everything all packed up and wrapped?" she asked, changing the subject and lowering her voice so no one else could hear what she just asked him.

Draco did a quick scan of the place, making sure no one was within hearing range, but he still didn't want to chance it and instead nodded in repsonse.

"Good," Hermione smiled, "You'll be sharing a carriage with us, right?" she reminded him before walking to join the three Gryffindor students who were waiting in line for their turn to ride on the next carriage. 

Draco stared after the jolly brunette and shook his head. He couldn't believe he was going through with this! Who would've thought that a _Malfoy_ would be socializing with a Muggle-born and Muggle-loving people for Christmas? His father and his group of friends would laugh at him if they ever found out what he was up to this Christmas. 

"Ready, Professor?" 

Draco jumped when he heard Twyla's voice from behind him. The Gryffindor Quidditch captain stood just at arm's length away from him with a grin plastered on her face. Draco's eyebrow rose questioningly at the spunky blond. 

"I take it that your parents allowed you to stay with the Weasleys for the holidays," it wasn't a question and there was really no need for him to ask her that when the answer was written all over her face. 

"I just got their owl of approval this morning that's why I'm running a bit late," Twyla flashed him a small piece of parchment then straightened the strap of her bag over her shoulder, "Shall we? I think our entourage is already waiting," she smiled deviously and looked at the foursome standing near the doors waiting for the rest of the two of them to join. 

Draco tried to hide a grin as he stepped back and let Twyla precede him to join the others waiting in line. The girl was so crazy in love with Percy her excitement at being able to spend a week or two with him was written all over her damn face! 

Somehow something tells him that spending the next fourteen days with this group of people (minus Creevey of course; his parents decided to go elsewhere for the holiday and his presence was highly needed) would be something he would remember for the rest of his life! 

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The train ride to Kings Cross wasn't a quiet one. Draco, Ginny, Hermione, Colin, Janelle, and Twyla managed to cramp themselves inside one compartment, occasionally having visitors drop by for a chat every now and then. The rest of the trip was spent planning what they should do at the Burrow over the holidays, pointing out that they should at least sneak in some time to do their projects when they can. Colin was slowly becoming more and more envious as the girls--excluding Hermione of course--planned on things to do while having a two-week sleepover at Ginny's place. 

"Man, I wish I don't have to go," he pouted, skulking on his corner of the compartment. 

"Aww, poor baby," Janelle teased and patted the top of his head gently. 

"Don't worry, Colin, we'll take lots of pictures to show you what we were up to," Ginny promised him. 

"And we'll also owl you almost everyday--or every other day--just to update you on what we did," Twyla added. 

The three girls spent the next half hour reassuring Colin that they would keep in touch with him if he promised to do the same. 

"Oh, and don't forget to take _loads_ of pictures once you get to Liechtenstein. I want to see some of what old Europe's got to give," Janelle piped in as an after thought. 

Hermione and Draco sat back, watching the three girls bombard Colin with reminders and promises, alternating from one to the other until the look on Colin's face said he has had enough and now he was wishing he hadn't opened his mouth! Ginny, Janelle, and Twyla wouldn't stop telling him what they wanted him to do and how often they wanted to receive news from him, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. 

"Somehow I think Creevey has learned his lesson when it comes to his three friends," Draco whispered to Hermione as Colin tried desperately not to scream at the three girls bombarding him with attention. 

Finally they reached Kings Cross and one by one the students crossed the barrier. Colin and Janelle went first followed by Ginny and Twyla. Draco decided to go with Hermione just to be on the safe side; he doesn't know _who_ would be waiting for them on the other side of the barrier once they get there. 

"Now don't be crapping in your pants, Malfoy," Hermione reminded her worried companion as they waited for Ginny and Twyla to cross, "Ginny already warned her brothers to treat one of her guests nicely." 

"Yeah, right," he snorted. 

"Oh, lighten up, Professor!" Hermione punched him playfully on the arm before she pushed her trolley through the barrier followed closely behind by Draco. 

The sight that greeted them as soon as they crossed the barrier was something to be reckoned with. Both Fred and George were draped all over a flushed-faced Twyla, each twin giving her ample attention worthy of a queen while Percy stood behind the twins red-faced because of the twins' antics. Ron and Harry decided to stand back with Janelle and Colin watching the dynamic duo irritate Percy to oblivion. 

"_Jeez!_ If Weasley likes Isaacs so much, why couldn't he just come outright and _ask_ her out instead of standing there looking like a very ripe tomato ready to burst?" Draco snapped as he watched Percy clench and unclench his fists, ready to tackle his two brothers. 

Hermione chuckled and gave him an are-you-kidding-me look. "You should know that almost _all_ Weasley boys are very shy when it comes to asking girls out, Malfoy," she reminded him casually, "I remember it took Ron a good...oh, how many years before he finally got up the courage to ask me out, but by then whatever feelings I have for him was gone." 

"And transferred to Potter," Draco said under his breath, but Hermione caught it and stopped dead on her tracks. She stepped right in to his path, her hand on his chest and her brown eyes wide from disbelief. Draco merely chuckled and gave her a conspiring wink before walking around her to join the others, but Hermione quickly grabbed his wrist and yanked him back. 

"You are _not_ going to breathe a word to anyone about that, Draco Malfoy, you got it?" she said in a harsh low tone that only he could hear. 

"Relax, Granger. Your secret's safe with me," he chuckled wickedly then added, "Besides, you and Potter are still at war, right? By the way, what was it that you two fought about that sent you both on a cold-shoulder-treatment kinda war, huh?" 

"Oh stuff it, Ferret Boy!" she hissed and let go of him instantly. Draco's teasing chuckle followed her until she was engulfed in a welcoming hug from Ron, but she maintained a silent treatment when it came to Harry wanting to give her a hug; she still hasn't forgiven him for blabbing to Percy about Mr. X's identity! 

Harry gave her a funny look. He was still boggled by Hermione's sudden cold treatment of him. She stopped owling him since...well, since before Slytherin versus Ravenclaw match back in November. 

"M-Mione?" he called her softly, but Hermione chose to ignore him and chattered away with Ron instead. "Hermione," he called more firmly this time, and again he received the same treatment. He was about to call her again for the third time when he felt a hand clap him on the shoulder. He turned to look at the hand's owner and frowned when he found Malfoy standing behind him. 

"What?" he snapped at him. 

"I'd leave her alone for now if I were you, Potter," Draco advised his former school days nemesis. 

"And why is that, huh?" 

"Because, Potter, the girl obviously isn't in the mood to acknowledge your puny presence, that's why," he couldn't help himself from insulting Harry, after all he knew he'd be defenseless against him and the rest of the Weasley boys once they've decided to gang up on him. 

"My brain isn't puny, _Mal-foy_, and you better watch that mouth of yours, you're in unchartered territories now. We can beat the snot out of you for all we care," he threatened, turning to around to face the blond man who now towered over Harry by a couple of inches or so. 

Ginny saw the impending fight between her professor and close friend and decided it was time to interfere now before fists started flying. She didn't want to present her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in front of her parents sporting a very nice shiner given to him by Harry as a welcome to the Burrow for the holiday present! 

"Break it off, you guys," she stepped between Draco and Harry (who both towered over her, to her dismay) and tried separating them by placing a hand each on their chests and pushed as hard as she might to give them a bit of distance from one another, "Remember what I said, Harry?" she willed her friend to look her in the eyes and held it, "_No fighting,_" she stressed out the two words as if she was talking to a two-year-old. 

"But _he_ started it," Harry whined. 

Ginny cocked an eyebrow. Harry knew that look all too well now. She meant what she said about no fighting and he _better_ abide to it or he would have another person not speaking to him. _Damn women and their always useful feminine wiles!_ he thought savagely and dropped his impending argument with Malfoy. 

Draco couldn't help but grin in satisfaction at how easily Potter was manipulated by women. 

"Weakling," he muttered under his breath, but both Ginny and Harry heard him. 

Harry looked like he was ready to pounce on him, but Ginny stopped him with her hand still pressing against his chest. Draco chuckled once again and was about to say something else when Ginny's piercing brown eyes turned to him. 

"Same rule applies to you, _Professor,_" she reminded him sternly, the look on her face deadly serious that Draco quickly clamped his mouth shut because she meant business. 

It was Harry's turn this time to chuckle and taunted him. "Weakling," he muttered before turning his back to him and talk to Colin and Janelle. 

Oh this was going to be a very _fun_ Christmas. Fred and George were still fussing about over Twyla, their arms looped around her shoulders and waist, sandwiching her between them whilst Percy followed them very closely with his piercing glare. Hermione was still busy catching up with Ron while Harry tried his best to catch her attention and make her talk to him, but to no avail. 

Oh yes, _definitely_ a helluva fun Christmas indeed! 

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**A/N:** hiya folks! sorry for not uploading a chapter yesterday. for once I was busy on a Saturday! *lol* watched a couple of movies and just stayed out of the house all day. anyway, I would like to thank all those reviewers who gave me some ideas for gifts. they're all so good I'm gonna be having a hard time picking one out of the lot! *lol*

**KT:** thank you so much, and I try my best to get at least one chapter out per day

**myobgirly:** chapter 21 was an 'R', eh? hehehe, well I couldn't think of anything else to give him for a final task that would sure make him go out of his mind *lol*

**the Lady of Gondor:** I think _this_ chapter gave you preview of what's the come during Draco's stay at the Burrow *lol* and what do you mean you love the way I put feelings into this story, how? just curious about what you mean by that

**Duckluvr7:** didn't mean to leave you in suspense! *lol* I do tend to leave my readers hanging sometimes, but I post the next chapter out as soon as I can, hehehehe

**FE:** thank you very much!

**Anyanka:** hmm...this chapter has a preview of what's to come

**Chick4Skater:** don't worry, you won't be in suspense for long...and please, don't hurt anybody!

**Quis:** I try my best to put less a/n's in the middle of the story, but sometimes I just can't help it! and thanks for liking the story!

**AngelLuna:** thank you!

**lama:** sorry for leaving another cliffie back in chapter 21, but I couldn't resist so I left it as is

**Hunter:** it's very brave of Draco to actually go through with this, he could've argued to death with Ginny about not going and whatnot, but in the end he decided to go

**The Elfin Child:** I hope you had a good nite's sleep! and...hmm...maybe I'll await for a looooong entertaining review from you :::smiles:::

**Cassandra Sisneta or Krey-Zey, MelissaAdams, moo, hasapi:** thanks for the gift ideas

**Kilmeny:** of course Hermione knows...remember, she and Ginny talks about everything? hehehe, and whatever gift Draco decides to buy for Ron & Harry will be something...oh, I dunno, hilarious? unexpected? it's a tough decision to make, hehehehe

**Jenn:** yeah, thinking of what presents to give is really hard. and you like the Draco & Hermione friendship of some sorts? hehehe, thanks! I aim for them to agree to disagree :::winks:::

**avapouhi:** well not really, but by the end of his stint at the Burrow he'll sure become a part of the family--somehow, hehehehe

**Xtremegrl2020:** thanks for liking the d/h friendship! I know it's not really the kind of friendship where they always agree...it's nice to have them still be at each other's throats at times

**Lia:** yeah, it's kinda hard to think of what gifts to give to the others, but I'm sure getting quite a lot of response regarding gift ideas for the other characters

**Sharlene:** hmm...everybody's going to react in their own special way...I think

**omelette du fromage:** *lol* will they be looks of surprise? gladness? vindictive? murderous? hehehe

**animezebra:** what do you mean turn Draco into another Harry? meaning what exactly? I'm just curious

**Polgara:** some things never change? meaning Draco's still being stupid? *lol*

**Crystal:** me being naughty too???? :::looks incredulous then slyly grins::: hehehe, well, I have my moments! *lol*

**Eva:** of course you are forgiven and allowed to spend some time with your niece! hehehehe

**Alli:** hmm...well, it'll be a blast most probably, hehehe

**Jade Stellar:** Draco is very very unhappy with what, I wonder...hmm.... :::taps chin and thinks::: could it be because Ginny left him somewhat _unsatisfied_ or because he had to go to the Burrow? hehehe, and btw, thanks for the gift ideas!

**death:** well, I hope _this_ chapter is pretty interesting enough

**SeZzA:** of course he's cute all the time! *lol*

**joebob:** you are very welcome, and I'm glad you enjoyed the very first fanfic you ever read :::smiles:::

**xangelcrisisx:** of course he came--Ginny'll wring his neck if he didn't! *lol*

**sassw14:** hehehe, so nothing over the top for the Weasleys, eh? hehehe, I'll keep that in mind :::smiles:::

**Nicole:** now, now, no need to break both his legs! *lol*

**Junebug:** hmm...the brothers won't be able to say much because Ginny warned them all to _not_ fight with one of her guests, hehehe

**Cheater531:** well I hope the chapters of Draco staying at the Burrow will be a whole lot of fun to read :::smiles:::

**Miss Marauder:** don't worry, it's always hard to think of gift ideas on the spot! *lol* and having too much isn't always that bad :::winks::: I should know, I seem to overdose myself with caffeine _and_ sugar a lot! *lol*

**Cactuskitty:** I'd sure love to read one of your stories when I have the time (which is like...uhm..._after_ I upload a chapter or in-between typing the next chapter and uploading it, hehehehe)

**Redbug:** Draco seemed to have a hard time asking Hermione for help, but he knew he had to, hehehe

**^_^ (you didn't leave a pen name):** thanks for liking the Quidditch match in chapter 9 :::smiles:::

**wowsergirl:** hey, not bad of an idea...hehehe, it'll probably cause a riot when Draco sleeps in GINNY'S room and...oh, let's just put Twyla in PERCY'S room *lol* what do you think? :::winks:::

**Lady Phoenix Feather:** oh, you won't be hearing any complaints from me regarding _Tom Felton_ being hot! *lol*

**Arella Hallo:** oh he _did_ ask her for her help all right

**kellyanne:** *lol* ooh...he it was really HARD for him to go ask a Muggle-born for help (now I wonder _why_ you can't believe that part in the last chapter....hehehehe)

***karly*:** I did respond to your email! Uhm...yeah, I did, I know I did! I distinctively remember responding to it, but anywho, hope you're enjoying your holiday! It's friggin' cold here right now! the temps are just falling overnight and it's not even funny!!!

**JaNx:** glad I made you laugh with this story, that's one of my sole purpose when I began writing this--to make my readers laugh

**me:** you know, I received a couple or so ideas about that gift for Percy & Twyla, hehehe, so maybe I'll end up using it, but who knows

**slytherin-cool:** thanks!

**Isis The Goddess Of Life:** uh-oh..._why_ were you grounded? spending too much time on the computer instead of doing your chores/homework? hehehe, and don't worry, Harry & Hermione will probably get some snoggin' done in future chapters

**Loves-Kiss:** you're on your spring break already? lucky you! spring looks pretty far away from where I am right now :::pouts:::

**Angelic Vampire:** hahaha, why thank you! I knew Ginny using some of her deadly feminine wiles would always get her _her way_ *lol*

**Amy:** of course you sensed right! and from the looks of this chapter, seems like Percy's going to have a helluva hard time dealing with his "feelings" for her when George and Fred decided to make it their sole purpose to drive him crazy! *lol*


	24. at the Burrow

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** okay, now we're finally AT THE BURROW! *lol* more antics from all the Weasley boys and...oh, maybe some more...uhm...romance? finally some unrequited feelings uncovered...oh, you'll just have to wait and see! :::giggles:::

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**XXIV. at the Burrow**

Draco's presence at the Weasley home caused some awkwardness and unease--especially for the Weasley boys. Arthur and Molly Weasley welcomed Draco warmly into their home and hoped their sons would follow their lead, but it took them the entire weekend before finally the ice broke and everyone started to enjoy the holiday. There were still a few occasional squabble between the boys and Draco, but Ginny was always there to reprimand them--or Hermione or Janelle or Twyla for that matter! Then there was the matter of Percy to torment. The twins found it highly amusing to shower Twyla with their undivided attention and have someone _with_ her at all times to keep Percy at bay.

By Christmas Eve the entire household was in total chaos. The boys were shooting in and out of each room, looking for something, asking for something, and _demanding_ for something. Bill and Charlie (who both arrived that day) were assigned to look for the perfect Christmas tree to place in the middle of the living room beside the fire. Fred and George were asked to chop woods for the fire while Percy was assigned to look for the decorations, Mr. Weasley was busy running errands for Mrs. Weasley who kept on remembering that she forgot to buy something while she was out at the market. Harry, Ron, and Draco were the only males left _without_ anything to do, so the girls decided to make them useful by bringing them into the kitchen to help prepare dinner along with Mrs. Weasley.

"But I don't know _how_ to cook _anything_," argued Draco as he was led in to the homey kitchen.

Janelle laughed and patted him on the back, "Don't worry, Professor, we're not expecting you to be as good of a cook as Mrs. Weasley is," she assured him.

"But it won't hurt for you to _learn_ how, you know?" Twyla added as she appeared beside him.

"And _who_, pray tell, will be kind enough to teach me, huh?" he challenged, looking from one blond to the next, they were now flanking either side of him as they made their way into the kitchen where Hermione and Ginny were already preparing ingredients for what they were suppose to be cooking.

"Me!" Ginny said enthusiastically, holding a ladle in one hand and a bright pink apron with frills in the other.

Draco stopped dead on his tracks and stared wide-eyed at the petite redhead holding the frilly pink apron, "Uhh..._that_ apron's for you, right?"

Ginny gave him a bright smile and walked around the dining table cluttered with bowls and baking powders and other cooking stuff.

"Don't be silly, Professor. This one's for you," she stopped right in front of him and handed him the ladle she was holding before putting the pink, frilly apron over his neck and, stepping even more closer than necessary, reached around behind him and tied it up. She slowly stepped back to admire her handiwork, her brown eyes gleaming with mischief as she raked it back up to meet his gray ones, "Hmm...pink is _definitely_ your colour, Malfoy."

From the doorway a couple of deep, male chuckles were heard erupting from the late comers. Harry and Ron were bent over keeping themselves from laughing out loud at the sight of Draco wearing an apron--and not just any plain ol' white apron for that matter!

"Holy crap, Malfoy! I never saw pink look _good_ on a guy before...until now," Ron exclaimed, clutching his side as he burst out laughing.

"Shut up, Weasley," Draco snapped, his cheeks turning almost the same shade of pink as the apron he was wearing.

Harry, who had his hand on Ron's shoulder for support turned to Ginny and bowed, "I commend you on your gall to get Malfoy to wear something _pink_ for a change. You know, black and gray are...oh, how should I say this...uhm..._ too old?_"

The two boys guffawed and slapped each other's backs while Draco shot daggers at them. Hermione, Janelle, and Twyla all rolled their eyes and shook their heads at the childishness of Harry and Ron.

"Stop it you two or you'll be joining Malfoy with a frilly pink apron yourselves," Janelle reprimanded them sternly, snatching two more aprons from the hook near the cabinets and walked towards the two laughing best friends.

Harry and Ron quickly stopped laughing and stared aghast at Janelle standing before them holding two more aprons similar to what Draco was wearing.

"Oh no. No, no, _no,_" Ron said firmly, shaking his head in denial and slowly backing away from Janelle waving his arms in front of him to fend her off.

"Oh yes. Yes, yes, _yes,_" Janelle grinned and thrust the apron at Ron.

"_No!_" Ron screamed and bolted out of the kitchen.

Janelle laughed and turned to Hermione, throwing the other apron at her she winked, "Good luck catching yourself a potter and get him to don on _that_ apron, Hermione. _I'm_ gonna catch me self a weasel," and with that she was off after Ron.

Hermione was surprised at having to do the honours of getting Harry to put on the pink frilly apron. She stared at the cloth in her hand then at Harry who was looking nervously at her then back down at the cloth in her hands. In the background they could hear Ron running away screaming for mercy from Janelle while Janelle's melodious "_Oh Ronnikins! Be a good boy and come to mama!_" followed closely behind.

Everyone in the kitchen burst out laughing, even Draco who was still not impressed at having to wear a pink apron was laughing at the ludicrous situation between Janelle and Ron. Harry joined in on the laughter, thinking that way he'd escape the embarrassment of having to wear the same apron Malfoy was wearing, but he thought wrong. Hermione, who had been ignoring him for the past few days since they got to the Burrow, walked up to him and twirled the apron around her arm, a mischievous glint in her eyes as her lips curved into a devious grin.

"Hell _no_, Hermione Granger!" Harry exclaimed, staring at the brunette in horror. "There is _no way_ I'm going to wear that thing!"

"Oh hell _yeah_, Harry Potter," she chuckled, "You and Ron and Malfoy _are_ going to wear _these_ aprons and help us ladies here in the kitchen."

"No way," he shook his head firmly, his green eyes darting back and forth between the apron and the person holding it.

"Yes way," she nodded, advancing closer to him.

"Oh crap," he muttered under his breath and bolted out of the kitchen, "Ron, wait up for me!" he called as he ran to join his friend who was busy being stalked by Janelle.

Hermione laughed and looked over her shoulder at the laughing Ginny, Twyla, Mrs. Weasley, and Draco, "Wish us luck, ladies--_and_ gentleman," she winked at Draco before she too bolted out of the kitchen after Harry.

Once the kitchen was cleared off Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Janelle, Twyla turned to the other three occupants with a stunned look on her face, "Would you believe that three out of those four people chasing each other around _are_ respectable adults who graduated the year before?"

Mrs. Weasley wiped a tear from the corner of her eye as she slowly stopped laughing and gave Twyla a fond smile, "Oh, I don't really care much, Twyla, dear. It's nice to have all of my children under the same roof enjoying Christmas. I was worried when Harry and Hermione weren't speaking to each other as soon as she got here, but now it's back to normal between them--somehow."

"You mean Granger and Potter running around the house chasing each other _is_ normal?" Draco asked in stunned disbelief.

Mrs. Weasley looked at the blond newcomer to the household and gave him a fond smile as well, "Not really, but to have them talking and teasing and just laughing again...it's just a good feeling," she sighed.

"I see," he nodded, a pang of jealousy seeping through his entire body as he noted the love the elder Weasley woman had for Hermione and Harry. He sure could do with some of _those_ love for a change. Harry and Hermione weren't even her blood-kin and yet she cared so much for them, why as for him...nah, it doesn't matter. Molly Weasley accepted him into her home with no questions asked, even though he was related to a very ruthless man, she overlooked that blatant fact and treated him the same way she treated all her children and surrogate children.

"Now," Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands and remembered that they still had much to do before their annual Christmas dinner, "Ginny, Draco, you two better start making desserts, and Twyla, dear, would you mind asking the twins for some more wood? I need some more to stoke the fire in the oven," she told the three youngsters left in the kitchen with her.

"Sure thing, Mrs. Weasley," Twyla smiled and went outside.

Ginny then turned to Draco and smiled, "Now, Professor, seems like we have to start our cooking lesson _without_ your two other classmates. First thing we're doing is prepare chocolate crinkles, then we're going to bake a cookie of your own choosing," she announced and moved towards the other side of the table.

"So you're going to make me bake the chocolate crinkles?" he asked with a bit of uncertainty lacing his tone.

"Nope. Chocolate crinkle is everybody's favourite--don't want you screwing it up," she winked and prepared the ingredients for the cookie, "You'll be helping me prepare it, but the next batch of cookies _you'll_ be making them--and they're of your own choosing too."

"Oh really?" he raised an eyebrow and stepped up closer to the table.

"Yeah," she nodded, grabbing two chunks of dark chocolates and placed them on the grater she had inside a steel bowl. She looked up and frowned at him, "You know you won't learn anything if you stand there. Come here beside me and watch, and also make yourself useful while you're here, hm?"

Draco raised an eyebrow at her bossiness. Ginny grinned back at him and motioned for him to stand beside her with her head. Draco walked round the table and stood beside her, keeping at least a couple of inch distance from her as he watched her grate some chocolate.

Mrs. Weasley, who stood by the sink slicing some meat for one of her specialties, couldn't help herself from chuckling and shaking her mop of red hair. It was evident there was romance brewing in the air, and it just doesn't concern Percy and one of her youngest offspring's close friends.

Draco and Ginny started working on preparing the chocolate crinkle cookies. She told Draco exactly what kinds of ingredients were needed and just ordered him around. Ron and Harry were still busy trying to run away from Janelle and Hermione who were relentless in their pursuit of the two young man adamant on getting them to wear the aprons similar to Draco's.

Percy came in to the kitchen with his arms full of the Christmas decorations he managed to find stored away somewhere upstairs. The box he was carrying was overflowing with stuff that it blocked his vision.

"A little help here, please," he called out to anyone who'd bother to help him.

Ginny and Mrs. Weasley's hands were full and dirty so it was left to Draco to lend Percy a hand. He put down the wooden spatula and walked up to Percy, taking some of the decorations covering his face.

"Where do you want me to put these, mate?" he asked as he took some load off Percy.

Before Percy could answer Twyla's ear-splitting shriek disturbed the somewhat semi-silence followed by a pair of scrambling footsteps from outside. Everyone in the kitchen stopped what they were doing at the sound of Twyla's alarmed scream. Percy dropped the box of decorations he was holding in to Draco's unsuspecting arms, making him drop the stuff he already took from the top of the box on the floor. He sprinted out of the backdoor and within moments came in carrying Twyla in his arms followed closely behind by the twins who were asking for forgiveness from their brother and the girl in his arms.

"Good gracious! What happened?" Mrs. Weasley demanded as soon as she saw Twyla sporting a nasty bruise on the side of her head, "Fred, George, an explanation--_now!_" she demanded and gave her sons a stern look.

"It was an accident!" Fred exclaimed.

"Yeah, it was, Mother. Twyla came out asking for some wood for the fire and Fred and I...well, we were throwing some wood at each other and one just accidentally hit her," George explained.

"And bloody well near killed her!" Percy snapped at his two shrinking brothers.

"_Percy!_" Mrs. Weasley scolded and wiped her hands on her apron. She peered at Twyla who was resting her head against Percy's chest and checked the side of her head where she was hit. "A nasty bruise you got there, my dear, but it's nothing that some concealing potion couldn't hide," she told the girl softly. 

Percy looked down at the girl in his arms and asked, "Are you feeling better?" 

"Uhm...I'm little dizzy at the moment," Twyla admitted, not minding at all that she was safely tucked in the safety of Percy's arms. 

"Oh, take him upstairs to Ginny's room, Percy. I'll tend to her as soon as I gave this two some stern lecturing," Mrs. Weasley ordered and stepped aside to make way for Percy and Twyla. 

Hermione and Janelle--who finally caught Harry and Ron and were wearing the aprons they got for them--skidded to a full stop when they saw Percy carrying Twyla. 

"What happened?" Harry asked wide-eyed. 

Ron noticed the slight bruise on the side of Twyla's head and looked up at Percy, "Damn, Perce! You didn't have to hit Twyla like that just to get the chance to carry her in your arms!" he scolded. 

Percy glared at his brother and Janelle did the honours of smacking him at the back of the head on Percy's behalf. 

"Shut-up, you goof! This is no joking matter," she scolded. 

"Thanks, Janelle," Percy gave the blond girl a thankful smile and wedged his way between the foursome and went upstairs to deposit the girl in his arms into Ginny's room. 

"_Ouch!_ That hurts, you know?" Ron glared at the girl who still had his upper arm in a tight grip while he rubbed the spot at the back of his head where she hit him. 

Janelle merely shook her head and pushed him into the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was scolding the twins, telling them how dangerous it was to throw chopped wood like that. Draco managed to find someplace to leave the box of decorations and went back to helping Ginny with the cookies. 

Hermione dragged Harry aside and started preparing the appetizers while Janelle dragged Ron to another corner of the room to help Mrs. Weasley prepare the main course. Fred and George got an earful of their mother's lecture before she let them back to chopping woods outside with a stern warning _never_ to play around with it again. They mumbled a 'yes' and went outside to finish their chores. 

Everybody went about doing their chores in the kitchen while Mrs. Weasley left them alone for a few minutes to tend to Twyla and gave her some concealing potion for the bruise. Percy became a mother hen to Twyla, never leaving Ginny's room until he was certain she was alright. She kept on insisting she was fine but he still wouldn't take her word for it, so Mrs. Weasley had to intervene. She told her son to go back downstairs and sort out the decorations he just pulled while Twyla rests. Percy still didn't want to leave, but after his mother threatened him he finally conceded. 

Bill and Charlie came back with the largest and biggest fir tree they could find after spending almost all afternoon searching for the best one to put in their living room. Everyone was in awe at the magnificence of the tree and applauded the two older Weasley brothers for their tenacity at finding the perfect Christmas tree. 

Meanwhile, Draco and Ginny's baking lesson was an _almost_ success until Draco's gingerbread cookies (_yes,_ he had the gall to choose to make gingerbread cookies complete with making the hair colour of the female gingerbread cookie red) turned out to be...well, not-so-eatable. 

"But I did everything you said to do!" he argued, staring crestfallen at the hard-as-a-rock gingerbread cookies laying on the cookie pan on the table. 

"Maybe you didn't follow _all_ the instructions, Malfoy," Harry chided. 

"Oh, shut your yap, Harry!" scolded Hermione, "Look who's talking. _You_ can't even toss a simple Caesar salad properly!" she added and nudged him aside to take over tossing the salad he had been prepping. 

Draco and Ron couldn't stop themselves from laughing at Harry's expense. Truth be told _he_ had the simplest task to do and yet he couldn't do it right. 

"Shut up!" Harry snapped at the two other chefs-wannabes as he stepped aside and let Hermione finish tossing the salad, but the two other males in the kitchen were relentless and kept on laughing at him until Ginny and Janelle had to smack them gently on their arms to stop them from making fun of Harry. 

"It's not like _you're_ any better than Harry or Malfoy, Ronald Weasley," scolded Janelle, "You can't even tell the difference between bay leaf and thyme when it's already written on the container which kind it is!" she shook her head and rolled her eyes skyward in disbelief, making the redhead turn a light shade of pink around the cheekbones. 

The entire kitchen burst out laughing after that. Hermione and Janelle kept on scolding their 'students' whenever they couldn't get a certain ingredient right while Ginny ordered Draco to eat _all_ the gingerbread cookies he made while she make another batch. Draco was adamant _not_ to eat the cookies and just throw them out, but Ginny wouldn't hear any of it. They bickered like an old couple that the rest of the occupant of the kitchen watched the two battle it on face-to-face. 

Ginny stood with her hands on her hips, her neck tilted back and her brown eyes glaring at Draco. Draco, on the other hand, stood towering over her, his gray eyes glaring down at the petite spitfire in front of him who was barking orders at him since he was dragged in to the kitchen. 

"_You_ will eat those cookies, Draco Malfoy," she ordered. 

"_No-way_, Virginia Weasley," he argued. 

"Yes." 

"No." 

"_Yes,_" she said more firmly, her hands now balling into fists on her hips. 

"_No,_" Draco was hanging on to his temper by a thread. She was really goading him to lose his cool in front of her family. He said he won't eat those damn cookies even if it was the death of him and he would stick to it until the end! 

Their screaming-fest carried over to the living room where Bill, Charlie, and Percy were busy fixing the tree all way upstairs to where Twyla was resting. Even the twins who were just finishing up chopping woods and stacking them in the shed near the house heard Ginny and Draco's raised voice. Everyone went in to the kitchen to watch what the commotion was about, only to find blond nearly choking the life out of the redhead with the way they were looking at each other. 

"Whoa, they argue like an old married couple, eh?" Bill chuckled as he enjoyed watching his baby sister duke it out with the stubborn blond. 

"I hate to argee with you, brother, but yea-eep, Ginny and that Malfoy kid sure look like an old married couple," Charlie nodded, crossing his arms over his chest as he lounged against the kitchen doorway and enjoyed the show. 

Ginny and Draco were still oblivious to the audience they have attracted and continued to argue about whether or not Draco would eat the cookies or not. Ginny was looking ready to jump the blond and strangle him until he succumbed, but Draco was holding his guard good against Ginny; the Weasley boys couldn't help but be impressed with how strong-willed Draco was--and how _brave_ he was to face the wrath of Ginny. 

Finally Ginny has had enough and snatched one piece of the gingerbread cookie and while Draco had his mouth open ready to argue, she stuffed the cookie into his mouth and stalked off. 

Everyone in the kitchen was stunned at the unexpected move from Ginny. Even Draco was rendered speechless--literally for that matter--and couldn't help but follow Ginny stalk out of the room. Once the shock of what happened evaporated, everyone burst out laughing--even Draco found the humour at what just happened to be funny as well. He took a bite off the gingerbread cookie Ginny just stuffed in his mouth and nearly broke a molar at the hardness of the thing. 

"_Damn!_ This thing could break anyone's jaw off!" he complained, but he chewed it nevertheless, "But you know what? I think I just baked it too long...this thing actually taste good," he turned to the rest of the crowd gathered around, smiling at them as he offered them the cookies he just baked. 

The rest of the family laughed out loud once more. Draco ought to be embarrassed at what just happened, but he couldn't find anything to be embarrassed about. Sure they were laughing at his expense, but it wasn't because they were being mean, it was because what happened was outright funny and it was a family thing to laugh at something as stupid as what just happened to him! 

Draco was already liking this whole 'family' thing, and he knew it would be what he'd miss after this year. Once Ginny graduated from Hogwarts he'd never find himself in this household ever again. 

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**A/N:** OMG! this is quite a long chapter, don't you think so? I actually had fun writing this chapter. hope you all had a good laugh at the antics each person at the Burrow had to go through. I tried to insert some Percy/Twyla fluff, but sorry guys, no kissing happening yet, but I got ideas for what's to come in the next chapter so maybe we could see some kissing action then :::wink, wink::: 

**Ali Lee:** usually I send email updates to my readers letting them know that I've updated...I dunno if I have your email addy added to my update list already...but I'll double check to be certain yours is added if not...well, I'll add ya! *lol* that way you'll know when I update my story :::smiles::: 

**The Dragon Guardian of the Sea:** I have so much idea for _this_ story...I have a couple (or more) stories that are kinda waiting in the wings at the moment--I have _no idea_ for them to write about, hehehe 

**Lia:** Harry likes Hermione and vice-versa, but Harry's too damn stubborn to admit that he likes Mione as more than a friend! *lol* 

**Danielle:** thanks so much for reviewing, and here's some more for ya 

**sammy:** well they're at the burrow now and this is a glimpse of a day in the life of the people staying at the Burrow...and maybe some Hr/Hrm & P/T action later on, but first I gotta think of a way on _how_ to get them together! *lol* 

**Miss Marauder:** it is an interesting trip indeed 

**slytherin-cool:** hmm...Hermione & Harry kissing...hehehe, well, I'm definitely working on getting some snogging action between the established couples (although they haven't admitted that they're a couple yet!) in this story...and I'm also working on getting another couple together, but I dunno _how_ to work on _that_ one... 

**MelissaAdams:** sorry that I didn't mention you in the previous chappie...although I thought I did! *lol* anyways, Percy _nearly_ punched the twins in this chapter because of what happened to Twyla, but they were lucky he got his hands full *lol* 

**kellyanne:** *lol* I have to agree with you on that one, but sometimes it's _hard_ not to become a pervert especially when the subject presents itself to us! and I'm glad you've gotten over the previous, previous, _previous_ chapter...hopefully it doesn't get any _harder_ in the future chapters to come! *lol* (we soooo gotta get our minds out of the gutter here! *lol*) 

**Crystal:** I don't like any Harry bashing coz I happen to like Harry, hehehe 

**Azalea:** poor Colin? why poor Colin? 

**Eva:** well I dunno _how_ they (the Weasley boys & Harry) will kick Draco's arse, but I think Ginny's doing a fine good job at it *lol* as for your violent mood...uh-oh...I hope it passes :::winks::: 

**Sharlene:** I think you're right based on what's been happening to them so far in _this_ chapter... 

**ashes (xtremegrl2020):** *lol* thank you! and I couldn't believe the amount of reviews I got so far, I'm just happy a lot of people are liking/enjoying this fic of mine! 

**fe:** the deal between Draco and Ginny is that they obviously like each other so much but like Percy and Twyla (as well as Harry and Hermione), they are too damn stubborn to admit to their feelings! 

**Loves-Kiss:** wow...well good luck, sweetie! and your friends are going skiing while you're not? why aren't you with 'em?! 

**Freak like me:** thanks! 

**sassw14:** well I dunno _how_ many more Draco-Harry fights will be in this story, but I'm sure they'll be at each other's throats quite a lot...or not 

**SAngel:** *lol* I hope so! thanks so much! 

**avapouhi:** I do email them, and I know I sent you an email letting you know I updated, you didn't get it? as for your question, the answer is they'll manage to fit all together. Harry, Ron, & Draco will be bunking together; the twins will obviously be bunking together; Percy will be sharing a room with Bill & Charlie; and the girls will be squeezing together in Ginny's room 

**Twitch:** me, a STAR? huh? :::confused look::: and yeeeep, seems like Draco _is_ having a Christmas worth remembering 

**The Elfin Child:** *lol* I still don't know what's the connection of life and the Olsen twins...that's just scary! 

**myobgirly:** you know, I'm also thinking about _how_ Draco would get Ginny back...hmm...well I'll eventually think of something *lol* as for the action...we'll see 

**Lady Phoenix Feather:** yep, "Sean Biggerstaff" is a _very_ interesting name...I couldn't believe it at first when I found out, but he's a hottie too! :::giggles::: next to Tom Felton, _he's_ the next hottest guy 

**Arella Hallo:** I just get these ideas for the next chapter and I just type 'em up, that's how I get to get one chapter out per day. I know it's crazy, but sometimes it takes me _weeks_ to get another chapter out because I am out of ideas 

**hpangel:** thank you! 

**LadyJenn:** glad this is keeping you entertained until June 21st! and Harry & Hermione _are_ talking again--sorta anyway 

**wowsergirl:** I think we should divide 'em all up! *lol* but I don't think the twins will be fighting over Janelle pretty soon...there's romance a-brewing for Ginny's other blond friend :::wink, wink::: hehehe and I'm glad you don't get confused 

**SeZzA:** how'd you like their antics/experience and whatnots now that they're at the Burrow? 


	25. Sleepless Night

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** hmm...I'll try and get a bit of action and some fluff in this chap since the previous chap is filled with...well, lotsa love and laughter! *lol*

**PhoenixRae's Notes 2:** uuuhhh...well, I _did_ get to include some fluff here...and I think I just warn you that the rating might get a bit 'R', but don't worry, it won't be as graphic as chapter 21--_I hope!_

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**XXV. Sleepless Night**

Ginny had some trouble sleeping Christmas Eve. She didn't have that much to eat during dinner but she still had trouble sleeping. She kept on tossing and turning in bed, trying to find a comfortable position so she could fall asleep like her three roommates, but it was to no avail.

Finally she gave up trying and went downstairs to make herself some hot chocolate. Maybe that would help her fall asleep. She quietly snuck out of her room and tiptoed down the stairs, careful not to make a squeaky sound as she descended the stairs.

"Sneaking off somewhere, Ginger?"

Ginny jumped and let out a tiny squeak at the sound of Draco's voice. He was sitting on the armchair by the fire facing the stairs.

Clutching her chest with one hand and the stair guard railing with the other, she sent the man seated across the room a piercing glare.

"Jeez, Blondie! Next time make a sound before you kill someone from fright!" she hissed and stalked angrily away from the stairs, "What are you doing up anyway?"

"I couldn't sleep," he shrugged and cocked his head ot the side, some of his blond locks flaling on his face, "What are _you_ doing up?" he asked.

"Same as you, actually. Came down here to grab myself a cup of hot chocolate," she replied.

"I just made some in the kitchen. Help yourself."

Ginny looked surprised, "_You_ made hot chocolate?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"And you didn't burn it or anything?"

Draco made a face at her. "Weasley..."

Ginny laughed softly and waved him off, "Just teasing you, Professor," she turned her back and went into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of his freshly made hot chocolate. She took a quick sip of it first to make sure it was edible, and she was impressed at how good it tasted; it wasn't too sweet nor too dark-chololatey tasting. It just tasted right.

She went back into the living room and found that Draco already moved from the armchair to the sofa facing the fireplace. He was nursing his cup of hot chocolate in one hand while it rested on top of the armrest and his gaze was transfixed on the dancing fire.

"I see that the presents are all wrapped-up and tucked under the tree," she spoke, breaking the silence and surprising the sole occupant of the living room.

Draco broke his eye contact with the fire and glanced at Ginny who stood at the other end of the sofa. He patted the empty seat beside him and asked her to join him, which she didn't hesitate in accepting. She made herself comfortable beside him, tucking her legs underneath her and leaned back.

"You didn't get anybody any presents, did you?" she asked, her eyes still fixed on the presents under the tree.

"Would you believe me if I tell you that I did?" he asked teasingly.

Ginny tore her gaze from the overflowing presents and stared at him wide-eyed, "You're kidding me, right?"

Draco smiked, "Would I kid you, Ginger?"

She frowned, "But _how_ were you able to buy us all a present? I mean, you don't really know any of us that well."

"Oh, let's just say I had a little help from somebody," he shrugged, breaking eye contact with her and taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

"You mean _Hermione_ helped you?"

"I don't kiss and tell, Weasley."

"Yeah-huh. Well, whether you kiss and tell or not, I know it was Hermione who helped you."

"Believe what you want to believe."

Ginny kept quiet after that, sitting back and focusing her eyes back on the roaring fire. Her hands cupped the steaming hot cup of hot chocolate resting on her knee. Draco did the same and watched the fire danced in the hearth, sipping on hot chocolate every once in a while and just sat there in silence with her.

Soon Ginny felt the call of sleep beckoning for her. Her eyelids were starting to droop. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate on the dancing fire as her head started to fall forwards. Draco noticed that his companion was already halfway falling asleep. He knew sooner or later she would conk-off and she would make a mess if her hand slipped on the cup she was holding.

Placing his now empty cup on the coffee table, he twisted his body sideways and gingerly took Ginny's cup from her nearly lifeless hands. He placed it on the coffee table beside his cup and turned back to shake Ginny awake, but she did something he didn't expect her to do.

She curled up against him as soon as he straightened up from putting her cup away. He was shocked at her bold action and remained rooted to where he was for a couple of seconds. He didn't know what to do with her. He had to get her back upstairs and in bed so he could go back to Ron's room which he was sharing with him and Harry, but Ginny was burrowing herself against him more snugly, letting out a cute sigh of contentment as she pressed her face against his chest.

"Ginny?" he whispered, "Ginny, wake up," he shook her gently, his hand clamping on her shoulder and moved her, but Ginny only made an annoyed sound and slapped his hand to stop him from shaking her.

Draco cursed under his breath. She wouldn't budge and he had to do something. He lifted her off his chest gently as he slid off the sofa, letting her lie on it horizontally as he straightened up, stretched a few kinks off his arms before leaning down to scoop her off the sofa and carry her upstairs to her bedroom. Just as he was about to lift her off the sofa, Draco was in for another surprise.

Ginny's arms snaked up and wrapped around his neck, pulling his face down closer until it was just a few inches from her face. Her lips started to curl into a seductive grin and her eyes slowly peeled open until it focused on his face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, hm?" she asked softly.

"Uh...taking you upstairs to your room?" he answered uncertainly.

"And why is that?"

"Because you're already nodding off."

"But I like it here," she insisted.

"It's really uncomfortable--" he was cut off when she placed an index finger against his lips.

"I won't be really uncomfortable if you join me. Besides, I've slept on this sofa one too many times to know it's _not_ uncomfortable," there was a hint of playfulness in her eyes, and Draco knew it was dangerous to play along with her, not when they were at her house with the rest of her family sleeping upstairs.

"Ginny..." he hissed.

"Hey, you promised me a warm, cozy snuggling by the fire to warm us up. Well I _am_ warm and comfy right now, so why don't you come back here and join me, hm?" she raised an eyebrow questioningly at him.

"Hell, Gin! I was only teasing at the time," his voice sounded strangled.

"Well, joking or not, I kinda liked the idea of snuggling with you in front of a roaring warm fire. So get your butt back on this sofa and let's just enjoy the warmth of the fire together, shall we?"

Damn, but she was being impossible! And he wanted to kiss her so badly right now she wouldn't believe how much he ached for her. All day long he had been in a state of want for her, especially while he stood real close to her in the kitchen baking some cookies and preparing some desserts.

"I might...I might kiss you, Gin," he confessed through strangled breath.

Ginny's eyes widen and her lips curled into a wide grin, "Then kiss me, Draco. God knows I've been wanting you to kiss me since I saw you with some sugar icing smudged on your cheek this afternoon!"

Draco thought he was just hearing things. He stared at the redhead in his arms for the longest time, deciphering if she was indeed serious or not, but the look in her eyes told him she _was_ dead serious.

Draco swore he heard an angel choir sing hallelujah as his head swooped down and captured her mouth. He felt like a man lost in the desert for days and just found an oasis of fresh water. He drank the taste of her, hot chocolate and something else, tasting it from her lips and savouring the feeling as he darted his tongue out of his mouth and cajoled her soft lips to part and let him in.

Ginny's hand moved up and raked through his mop of blond locks while the other rested on his shoulder. She tilted her head to the side and parted her lips at his tongue's urgent prodding, moaning in delight as Draco deepened the kiss, gathering her in his arms. He knelt down beside her, one hand cupping her neck and his other arm wrapped around her waist, hauling her tiny body close to him.

Ginny pushed herself up to a sitting position, straddling Draco between her thighs as they continued to kiss. Both their hands did some wandering on its own. She felt Draco's warm hand parting her nightgown and slipping his hand inside, cupping a feel of her ample-sized breast, causing her to moan in surprise. She undid his robe he had on and pushed it off his shoulders, her hands spanning the broadness of his chest.

Draco's hand wandered lower still, clutching the hem of her nightgown and slipped his hand underneath, moving slowly up her thigh, caressing it gently before moving higher still to cup her breast. Ginny groaned against his lips as he continued to caress and fondle her breasts, his mouth moving away from her lips to travel down her jaw to her neck, kissing a path down to her cleavage visible from her nightgown.

Things were starting to get hot and heavy between them, with Draco's mouth and hands roaming about freely on her, and Ginny found it all the more difficult to push him away with the way his mouth was playing with her breasts over the fabric of her nightgown.

This was insane. They both knew that. They could get caught any second now by somebody who couldn't sleep either, but none of it seemed to matter. Ginny was willing to risk being caught by her parents or brothers--or even by her friends--, all she wanted was to be in Draco's arms and _stay_ there forever.

Draco was half on top of her and half on the floor still when they heard a creaking sound from upstairs that quickly stopped them from what they were doing. For a few agonizing seconds they remained the way they were, Draco lying halfway on top of Ginny whilst she lay on the couch. Their ears perked up to listen to any more sounds from upstairs. When they were certain nobody was awake and going down the stairs, they let out a sigh of relief and slowly disentangled themselves from each other.

They straightened their clothing in silence. Ginny remained seated on the sofa while Draco moved near the fireplace as he straightened his robe, his back facing the tempting vixen on the sofa. Once he was certain she looked presentable once again, he slowly turned and faced her. His gray eyes sought her brown ones, both of them yearning still for the other's touch, but they knew they must stop now before things got way out of hand.

"That was a close call, Gin," he said finally to break the silence.

"Ye-yeah," she nodded, breaking eye contact with him and instead rested her gaze on the dancing fire.

Silence befell them once again, neither one speaking nor moving. Ginny let out a long, deep sigh and looked back at the man standing across from him, "Why don't you sit here beside me? It's much more comfier," she invited.

"I can't," he declined.

"Why not?" she frowned.

"Because...because I don't trust myself to be near you right now, Ginger, that's why," he replied followed by a deep, strangled sigh.

"Why? You don't have any self-restraint?" she couldn't help teasing.

He said he doesn't trust himself to be near her right now, does that mean that he felt the same way she felt for him? Does he want her so badly like the way she wanted him so badly right now?

"Ginny..." he hissed.

Ginny took a deep breath and cocked her head to the side, her eyes slowly assessing him before it rested on his face. "Look, so we're _physically_ attracted to each other, we already know that, but we managed to play down our hormones over the past few weeks, haven't we? I mean, until a few minutes ago anyway," she shrugged.

"Look, I can't--"

Ginny raised her hand and stopped him from finishing his sentence, "I'm not asking you for a forever after, Malfoy. I'm just merely inviting you to sit with me and watch the fire. That's all."

That's all, she said. Hell, that wasn't all he wanted to do with her right now! She drives him insane with want and he knew he couldn't do a single damn thing about it! She was this forbidden fruit in the garden that he mustn't touch or suffer the consequences of spoiling that sacred fruit.

"Just watch the fire?" he echoed.

"Yeah," she looked genuinely sincere that that was all she wanted.

He couldn't take any chances with her. He couldn't hurt her not after the way he witnessed her entire family adored her.

"I don't want to hurt you, Ginny," he said under his breath.

Ginny made a face at him, "By sitting with me? C'mon, Professor! You can't hurt me by sitting beside me to watch the fire!" she teased.

"I know. What I meant is..." his voice trailed off when he saw Ginny got up from the sofa and crossed the room to where he stood. She wrapped her hands around his wrists and guided him back to the sofa, pushing him down to sit as she snuggled down beside him, grabbing the afghan placed on the backrest and draped it over them.

"You won't hurt me, Draco, it just isn't in you to be that cruel," she told him lovingly, her brown eyes holding his gaze and the smile on her face genuine. "So just sit there and relax and let's watch the fire until morning comes and it's time to open presents, alright?"

Draco couldn't argue with that reasoning. She was so sure he wouldn't hurt her and yet he was scared shitless that he just might. Finally he succumbed to the warmth coming from the hearth and from the lovely woman beside him. Draping his arm around her, he pulled her closer to his side and rested his head against the top of her head that was resting on his shoulder.

Together they watched the fire dance before them, reminiscing about the last few days' events and stored them away in the vault at the back of their heads. Draco had a few good Christmas memories to take away with him and look back on every now and then. What he had with Ginny right now...it won't last. She deserved more than what he could give her. She deserved someone who knows how to love and return the love she learned from her family. He wasn't that someone who could do that. He grew up in a home without love to speak off. He grew up in a home so cold at times he thought he would die of frostbite.

No, he wasn't that someone for her. He would cherish every moment he could have with her, then after this year was over he would forget her and let her live the life that was more fitting for her than what he could offer.

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**A/N:** ooookay...I think I got a bit sad and dramatic near the end there. heck, I was nearly brought to tears as I was typing this last part! but we did see some Draco/Ginny action in this one. what do you guys think? and don't worry, the presents will appear in the _next_ chapter. again thanks for all your wonderful reviews!

**izzy:** I know Hermione falling for either one of the twins will be hilarious...but I'm just not sure I'll be able to pull off _that_ love-story line...hehehehe

**Crystal:** the Weasleys aren't all that snobbish! they're warm, loving, welcoming family...it's only the twins and Ron who have some problems with Draco, but I'm sure Hermione, Ginny, Janelle, and Twyla will be able to straighten them out *lol*

**meLisSa:** joke stuff gifts for the twins, eh? hmm...too vague, but I already got an idea for a gift for them and the others as well :::smiles:::

**Xela:** an almost kiss between Percy and Twyla...and a Harry/Hermione action? hehehe, well, that former could be arranged and as for the latter...hehehe, I think it could be arranged too! *lol*

**Angel-Hiragizawa32:** I want some cookie too...while they were making the chocolate crinkles I am imagining craving for some of it too! *lol*

**wowsergirl:** you weren't mistaken. I'm trying to pair-up Ron with Janelle...but we'll see how _that_ story line develops.

**margarinequeen:** thanks for loving this story. and before I wasn't into writing a Draco/Ginny fic before, but I just tried out my luck after getting so many ideas and here's the result

**Faltering Hues:** yeah, isn't it nice that Harry and Ron are warming up to him even though they still don't trust him well enough to let him date Ginny? hehehe

**ashes:** thanks for loving the pink apron part! *lol* I couldn't resist from inserting it in the story...I wanted to have some fun with the boys :::winks:::

**Angharrad:** I know Penelope and Percy are an established couple in most fics, but in this one...well, I think I have to explain Penelope's absence, right? hmm...maybe when Percy already got the guts to ask Twyla out we'll find out what happened between him and Penelope

**hasapi:** Christmas its taking its time to arrive! *lol* and as for Draco's final thoughts in the previous chapter...hehehe, of course we all know what's going to happen :::winks:::

**JaNx:** thanks for enjoying the previous chapter! I meant for everyone to have a good laugh while reading it...and I think I finally got some Ginny/Draco action going in _this_ chapter

**syders:** thanks for loving _Mission_, it was my first finished D/G story. and here's the next chapter. it's not as funny as the previous ones, but the mood/humour will pick-up in the next chapters (gotta give some dramatic-fluffy moment between Draco & Ginny, hehehehe)

**Nicole:** now if either one of them called each other by their given nicknames to one another, it will sure cause a few eyebrows to go up, right? hehehe

**Danielle:** thanks for understanding Draco's feelings. yeah, he really _does_ need a warm family like the Weasleys to make him more...uhm...human? not that he's _not_ human at all, it's just that he's pretty much closed-up or something

**Arella Hallo:** hope you weren't tardy for your first hour! hehehe

**Kodomo Cow:** ooohh...you just named the top 3 hotties! Orlando Bloom (went crazy over him _after_ watching him as Legolas in LOTR then he was even more hotter in _Black Hawk Down_), Sean Biggerstaff, and Tom Felton! *lol* it doesn't matter who's hotter out of this three...they're all hotties in my book! :::winks:::

**Lia:** LAW?!?!?!?! woman, are you out of your noodles?! *lol* and thanks for liking Draco & Co. wearing pink frilly aprons, I did get a laugh out of writing that scene. as for Percy not being one-dimentional...well, I noticed that in most fics he was described as work-obsessed, but I want my Percy to be more than just work-obsessed and straight-laced!

**Miss Marauder:** yep, it wasn't really that hard to picture the Weasley household in chaos with everyone there

**Jade Stellar:** you really think Ron & Janelle are cute together? hehehe, well I think so too

**Lulu81:** I'm glad you enjoyed this story. and I try not to dwell too much on description and all because believe me, sometimes it just bores me to death to read very long, vivid descriptions when a short one could've done the trick! *lol* as for Ron and Janelle...well, I'm _trying_ to make them a couple. as for the rest of the Weasleys...the twins, Bill, & Charlie are all swinging single young lads (but maybe with a gf on the side we do not know about, hehehehe)

**Bunny:** thanks for finding the previous chap funny...I meant for it to be that way and I'm glad you had a good laugh (I hope)

**slytherin-cool:** so you're enjoying your break, eh? have fun! hehehe

**Sharlene:** of course they are! I mean, they have too...they'll forget all about that petty disagreement they had and be like old times again

**Moon-Shone:** don't worry, this is _definitely_ a Draco/Ginny fic. I'm just throwing in the other couples for fun; the other couples are there to divert the attention from the _main_ couple...well, not really, but they're there so Draco & Ginny could have a bit of fun sneaking around or something *lol*

**death:** I'm glad everyone found the Draco-in-pink-apron funny :::smiles:::

**Wizzabee:** just wanted to tug at your heart-strings there nearing the end of the previous chapter, but this is going to be a happily-ever-after fic...I hope, hehehehe

**avapouhi:** no problem. actually, it took me a while to figure out _who_ will will sleep in whose room! *lol* but I know the girls will end up together, it's just the _boys_ that I had problems with *lol*

**Loves-Kiss:** whoa! going to Aspen this summer, eh? good for ya! and hope you got the modeling job

**Eva:** I'm glad your violent mood is over! *lol* and I think Ginny's the only one who could actually kick Blondie's arse, hehehehe

**Cactuskitty:** it was my favourite incident too in the previous chapter, hehehe. btw, I'm reading your Ginny fic right now and I'm slowly working on getting to the final chapter, but I like it so far

**butterfly kisses:** thank you!

**Ayesha97:** I am not having writer's block again...well, not yet anyway, hehehe, I'm so on a roll with this story that I'm posting like a chapter a day!

**MelissaAdams:** I thought the presents will be in _this_ chapter, but I had to push it to the next chappie

**Cheater531:** if the previous one was down right funny, well, this next one isn't, right?

**kellyanne:** *lol* I'm glad you're trying to get your mind out of the gutter...I am too :::winks::: and thanks for enjoying the previous chap!

**omelette du fromage:** I think they are already falling in love, but they're just showing it differently. as for indenting, bolding, and italicizing, I am using Microsoft FrontPage right now so I could do all these stuff...do you have FrontPage?

**Jenn:** I had an idea for a Percy/Twyla action in _this_ chapter, but I don't want take away the spotlight from Draco and Ginny

**Redbug:** I think the Twyla/Percy thing is playing out...uh, just nicely?

**dreamofTF:** hehehe, something _did_ happen between them in _this_ chapter

**Alli:** I'm excited to write about his gifts to them too!

**xangelcrisisx:** well, I gotta put a bit of a 'reality' there somehow, hehehehe :::winks:::

**Polgara:** yep, they do make a cute couple

**Kestral:** he seems to fit in very well, doesn't he? hehehe, yep, I couldn't help giggling/laughing as I type up that cookie-stuffing scene

**G. Zan:** lucky you have a dog. the Weasleys doesn't so Draco was forced to eat it *lol*

**Erin:** thanks for checking out it! and thanks to your friend for recommending you to read this one, hehehe, it's good to know that my other readers liked this story enough to recommend it to others :::smiles:::


	26. Christmas at the Burrow

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** okay, Christmas took its time arriving, but finally it's here! and for your FYI's, Twyla & Janelle had been Ginny friends for such a long time and are constant visitors at the Burrow so the Weasley boys knew these two girls very well--just in case you're wondering why Bill and Charlie acts like they _really_ know Ginny's two friends so well

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**XXVI. Christmas at the Burrow**

"Should we wake them?" asked a familiar male voice.

"No. Let them sleep," replied a familiar female voice.

"But we can't let Mum and Dad catch them like that," argued another familiar male voice.

"Like what, Ron?" it was Hermione who demanded it this time, "They're just sleeping on the couch with an afghan over them--they're not in any way or state of undress!" she pointed out.

"But--but...dammit, Mione! She's with Malfoy!" Ron whined.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, "They are _fully_ clothed!" she pointed out.

"C'mon, Ron. It's still too early. Let's make some breakfast," Janelle cajoled her best friend's brother and managed to drag him into the kitchen where the others were preparing breakfast before Mr. and Mrs. Weasley woke up.

A retreating scurrying of feet alerted the sleeping couple on the couch that their audience already left. Ginny made sure that they were indeed alone in the living room before pushing herself off Draco's chest where she just had the most peaceful sleep she could remember.

"Okay, they're gone," she said, her hands pressed against Draco's chest as she looked at the direction of the kitchen. She looked down at the man beneath her and smiled, "Jeez, Malfoy, I didn't know you could be such a good pillow," she teased.

Draco groaned and did a few neck rotations to restart the circulation from his neck down. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, Weasley, although...it wouldn't hurt if you lose a few pounds," he grinned mischievously.

"Why you..." Ginny started hitting him at his jab, "I am _not_ that heavy!"

"Hey! _Hey!_" Draco raised his arms to shield himself from Ginny's attacks, but she was good and knows exactly where to hit him, and she hits him hard. "Stop it," he demanded.

"No," Ginny replied and continued hitting him.

Draco tried to grab her hands to stop her from further hurting him, but she was just too fast for him.

"Aww...look, the lovebirds are having a little spat," came Charlie's teasing voice from the stairs which automatically stopped Ginny from further hurting her guest.

She lifted her gaze and glared at her brother, "We're _not_ lovers and _he_," she pointed an accusing finger at Draco, "just said that I'm fat!"

"_Hey!_ I didn't say you're fat! I just said you could lose a few pounds, that's all," Draco argued.

"Whatever," Ginny huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

Charlie looked bewildered and couldn't help but chuckle, "Whoa, man, I can't believe you just said that to Ginny and managed to stay alive!"

"_Who_ managed to stay alive?" came Twyla's voice as she descended down the stairs wearing a purple turleneck.

"Your professor," replied Bill and did a double take over his shoulder when he noticed what Twyla was wearing, "What's with the turtleneck, T? I thought you _hate_ wearing those," he frowned and carefully studied the curly blond haired girl.

Twyla's hands quickly flew up to touch the collar of her sweater, her cheekbones turning a light shade of pink Ginny's eyebrow rose up and studied her friend carefully. She could smell something fishy going on but she couldn't put her finger to it.

"Hey, what seems to be the commotion here?" asked Percy as he bounded down the stairs, stopping just behind Twyla and peered down to see what the others were looking at.

"Oh nothing. It's just Ginny beating the crap out of Malfoy for calling her fat. Oh yeah, and Bill's just asking _why_ your girlfriend's wearing a turleneck when we all know she _hates_ wearing one of those," Charlie replied matter-of-factly.

"Percy's _not_ my boyfriend!" Twyla hissed and with her face all flushed, she shoved Bill and Charlie aside and stalked into the kitchen to join the others who were making breakfast.

Percy's face turned the same shade of pink that Twyla's cheeks were sporting earlier at the mention of Twyla wearing a turleneck. He cleared his throat and continued descending down the stairs, pushing his two older brothers aside and muttered, "Stop teasing us, you guys," then followed the blushing blond into the kitchen.

Bill and Charlie exchanged a knowing look then burst out laughing. They weren't blind nor stupid. Percy's pink cheeks and Twyla's flushed face _plus_ her wearing a turleneck could only mean one thing: she was hiding a hickey given to her by Percy!

Draco, who had his back to the brothers and Twyla the whole time, looked over his shoulder and frowned at the two laughing elder Weasley brothers.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Percy and Twyla did something _really_ naughty last night and now she's hiding the evidence," Bill replied when he finally clamed down from laughing so hard.

"God, it's finally good to see that Percy's gotten over that Penny chick," Charlie added clutching the side of his stomach.

"Yep. I thought after that number she pulled on him a year ago he won't recover, but I'm glad he has and falling for Twyla?" Bill chuckled and shook his head, "I say that girl's better than Penelope!"

"Hell yeah, Bill! Twyla's more funnier than Penny. Why, she adds colour to Percy's dull life," Charlie agreed.

"Yep. Now let's go into the kitchen and torment those two some more," Bill invited and led the way to the kitchen.

"You two coming?" Charlie asked, casting the couple on the couch a questioning look.

"We'll be there," Ginny nodded and waved her brother off.

"Clearwater did a number on Percy?" questioned Draco as soon as Bill and Charlie cleared the living room.

Ginny turned her attention back to the man on the couch with her and let out a strangled sigh. Pushing herself off the couch, she grabbed the afghan and started folding it.

"Percy and Penny were engaged, then out of the blue she runs off with another guy. Some guy she met at work who instantly swept her off her feet," she placed the afghan back on the sofa's backrest, "It was a surprise to all of us when we found out, but seems like dear ol' Penny's been sneaking off with her co-worker behind Percy's back because Percy's way too obsessed with his work."

"Ouch," Draco flinched and pushed himself off the couch.

"Yea-eep," Ginny nodded, "We were all shocked at what happened, but what can we do? I mean, let's face it, Percy _is_ a work-obsessed redhead who worshipped the ground his first boss walked on during his first year working for the Ministry," she led the way to the kitchen where everyone, excluding the twins and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, were busy making breakfast.

Hermione and Janelle took over making pancakes while Harry and Ron were setting the table. Twyla was making the drinks while Percy grabbed the glasses. Bill and Charlie stood on the side and enjoyed watching the little show the three couple were doing in the kitchen.

"Whoa, is it always _this_ busy in the Weasley kitchen on Christmas morning?" whispered Draco to Ginny as he watched Hermione nearly smack Harry with scooper she was using when Harry and Ron were fencing using the bread knives.

Controlling her mirth, Ginny stood with her arms crossed over her chest and watched Hermione reprimand Harry like she would one of her students. Biting her lower lip, she looked over her shoulder and smiled up at Draco, "Yea-eep. Welcome to the Weasley Family Christmas extravaganza," she let out the giggles she'd been controlling and returned her attention back to Harry and Hermione. 

Janelle was helping Hermione now too by pulling Ron aside and giving him a lecture. She snatched the the knife he was holding and was using it as a pointer whilst she scolded Ginny's brother.

It took Hermione and Janelle a while to finish making pancakes (they had to keep a close eye on Harry and Ron to make sure those two weren't fooling around with the silverwares). Percy and Twyla were acting oddly around each other, avoiding one another at all cost and whenever they happen to bump in to each other, they'd both end up blushing furiously. It didn't help them much when Bill and Charlie laughed at their expense, letting the two red-faced people know that they knew what was going on. Ginny tried to scold her two older brothers but it was to no avail. Bill and Charlie _loved_ making Percy and Twyla feel uncomfortable that there was no stopping them from tormenting the poor couple.

Fred and George soon joined the foray as soon as they entered the kitchen. Like Bill and Charlie, the twins quickly picked-up on what was going on between Percy and Twyla. They helped their two older brothers for a while until they noticed Hermione and Janelle scolding Harry and Ron every two seconds.

"Oy, Harry!" George called, "I say kiss the girl already so she'll shut up!" he advised.

"Yeah!" Fred agreed, "And that goes for you too, Ron!"

Ron and Harry exchanged confused looks then turned and frowned at the twins.

"What?" they asked in unison.

Fred and George rolled their eyes and got up from their seats. George walked towards Hermione and Fred headed towards Janelle. Both girls looked alarmed at what the twins had in mind and started backing away, but the kitchen counter blocked their escape.

"It's just like this, dufus," George's hand snaked out and grabbed Hermione by the wrist, tugging her towards him before dipping her and his mouth sought hers for a very dramatic execution of a kiss.

"_Or_ you could do this," Fred's arms wrapped around Janelle's waist, pulling the surprised blond closer to him and clamped one hand at the back of her neck, holding her still as he inclined his head closer and closer until their lips touched.

The kitchen erupted in loud applause and laughter as they watched the stunned faces of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Janelle after the twins were done with their demonstration. Both Hermione and Janelle started hitting the twins in outrage at their audacity to use _them_ as guinea pigs to prove their points! Neither Fred nor George minded being used as punching bags by the girls; the look of murderous jealous outrage on Harry and Ron's face was enough to make up for the bruises the girls were inflicting on them.

Ginny could only roll her eyes skyward and cover her face with her hands, shaking her head in disbelief as the laughter around her increased.

Draco, who sat down beside her, joined in on the laughter as well. Seeing the look of horror cover the face of Hermione I'm-cool-calm-and-collected Granger was priceless! He had to give kudos to the twins for that.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were roused by the ruckus their children and guests were making downstairs. It was very unusual for them to hear such loud volumes of laughter on a usually subdued Christmas morning, but their curiosity was soon answered when they entered the kitchen. Their twin sons were being beaten up by Hermione and Janelle. Harry and Ron were doing their best to restrain the girls from turning Fred and George to black and blue. Twyla, who was the only girl wearing a turleneck sweater compared to the other three girls in the kitchen, was slowly turning red from Bill's teasing while Charlie was being given a noogie by...

"_Percy!_" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed in horror as she watched her third son show a very unusual behaviour.

Percy and Charlie quickly sprung apart at the sound of their mother's alarmed voice.

"_He_ started it!" Percy quickly took on the defensive and pointed an accusing finger at Charlie.

"What did I do?" he looked innocently at his mother then grinned mischievously when he looked back at Percy.

Percy was about to lunge at his brother again, but Arthur Weasley intervened this time.

"That's enough, boys. Let's all eat breakfast now," he announced then to Percy he added, "Nice head-locking move, Perce."

Unfortunately for him, Mrs. Weasley heard him and swatted him on the shoulder which made Mr. Weasley hastily add, "But you shouldn't do it again," and winked at his son when his wife wasn't looking.

Breakfast was a bit delayed being served that morning. Everyone was eating while Hermione and Janelle kept on cooking more pancakes. Mrs. Weasley suggested that Hermione use magic to make her job go faster, but Hermione she refused. She said it was more fun to cook and serve breakfast herself at the same time.

"It's more homey that way," she smiled while putting two more pancakes on Ron's plate.

"Yeah. She needs to practice for when Harry marries her," George chuckled.

The whole table (Mr. Weasley had to conjure up two more tables to accommodate them all) burst into gales of laughter at George's remark. Janelle, who stood nearest to him, gave George a swift swat on the head.

"Stop teasing Mione," she scolded.

"_Oy!_ You're just jealous 'coz Mione got kissed by George," Fred teased, "My kissing technique ain't good enough for you? Want George to give you a demo too?" he feigned looking crestfallen because his kiss wasn't good enough as far as Janelle was concerned.

"Why you..." Janelle quickly whipped the fork she had on her serving plate and threatened Fred with it.

George quickly sprung to his feet and grabbed Janelle by the upper arms, stopping her from rearranging Fred's face with the fork.

"Now, now, Jan, no need to do that. If you want a kiss from me, all you gotta do is ask," George said matter-of-factly and to Janelle's--and everyone else's--surprise, he turned Janelle around to face him and planted a loud wet one on her mouth. Pulling away from the dumbstruck blond, George plastered a proud smile on his face and wrapped his arm around Janelle's shoulders, facing Ron he beamed, "That's one point each for Fred and myself, Ronnikins. You better make your move son, brother," he winked before moving away from Janelle and resumed his breakfast.

Ron would've lunged at George from across the table if it hadn't been for Harry and Bill holding him back down.

"Relax, Ron, you'll soon get to kiss the girl," Bill assured his temperamental younger brother.

"Yeah, as soon as you got up the courage to _actually_ kiss a girl," added Charlie teasingly.

Ron's face was beet red by the time his brothers were done teasing him. He kept his head down and toyed around with his pancakes and tried his best to ignore the jabbering he was receiving from the others.

Meanwhile, Ginny watched as the rest of her family indulged in their usual torment-the-other-brother game with a smile plastered on her face. She happen to glance at Draco who had been watching her whole family interact with one another. He looked quite stunned at what he was seeing. _Poor guy,_ she thought when she saw longing in Draco's gray eyes as he watched her brothers and friends make fun of one another.

"Having fun, Professor?" she asked her seatmate.

Draco turned his gaze away from her family and looked at her, a smile curving the corners of his lips. "Of course I am. Thank you for inviting me over for Christmas."

Ginny returned his smile. "If I remember correctly, I didn't invite you over, I _demanded_ that you be here for Christmas," she corrected him.

"Regardless," he shrugged, "I could've argued with you on not going."

"Are you sure you would've won?" she raised a query eyebrow at him.

Draco chuckled, "Perhaps. At least I tried. Would you have let me not come?"

"Perhaps," Ginny chuckled.

From the other end of the long table, Molly Weasley watched her only daughter talk to the young blond man seated beside her. They looked very good together, if she do say so herself. They spoke of unspoken attraction, those two, and yet they were too stubborn to succumb to their mutual attraction. Would they be able to forget that she was a Weasley and he was a Malfoy? Over the course of the last few days, Draco Malfoy managed to worm his way into the Weasley family and became a part of it without standing out amongst the others, so why can't they forget about the past and concentrate on their future...together?

= = = = = * * * = = = = =

It was customary in the Weasley household for the giver of the gifts to hand out his or her present to the rest of the family. Since Draco was the newcomer, he had had first dibs on handing out _his_ gifts. Ginny couldn't believe that he actually bought everyone in the house a present; she thought he was just kidding last night when they talked.

For Mrs. Weasley he got her a George Foreman grill (it was a well-known Muggle cooking equipment that Hermione told him Molly Weasley would enjoy--_after_ she mastered _how_ to use it first).

He gave Mr. Weasley a muggle AM/FM radio alarm clock and spent a few minutes explaining to the elder Weasley the thing worked (he asked Hermione to explain how the instrument worked when he purchased it so he wouldn't look like a complete idiot for giving something he doesn't know how to use!).

Bill received an expensive pair of dragonhide gloves and boots. "I hope the boots fit you, if not, you can always return it and get a pair that is your size," Draco told him when Bill started trying them on.

"Thanks, mate!" Bill said cheerily as he put on the gloves which fit his hands perfectly and the boots which was neither too small nor too big; it was just the right size.

For Charlie Draco decided to get him a flame-resistant jacket since he worked closely with dragons.

"Wouldn't want you to be burned into crisps one of these days," Draco remarked teasingly.

Charlie chuckled and shook his hand. "Thanks, man! I definitely will be needing this when we start training this new crossbreed dragon."

For Percy he agreed with Hermione and opted to be more humorous. He gave him a book called _The Complete Idiot's Guide to Teen Dating_.

"_Yeah!_ Now you won't be such a dork when it comes to asking Twyla out!" guffawed Fred and quickly ducked out of sight when Percy threw a the box that Draco used to put the book in.

As for the twins, he decided to give them a gift that would be beneficial to the two of them. Since the one who loved doing pranks on people was Fred, Draco gave him a book on various harmless hexes that are sure to get a good laugh from everyone whilst George received a book on counter-curses for the hexes in Fred's book.

Ron got a signed poster and quaffle from the entire Chudley Cannons team.

"Wicked!" he exclaimed as soon as he opened his present, "Thanks, Malfoy! These aren't bad."

"No problem, Weasley," Draco nodded and reached for the next gift under the tree. It was for Harry. "Here," he handed him the nicely wrapped gift. He met Hermione's gaze from across the room and noted her raised brow. He remembered complaining to her that he couldn't find a decent gift for Harry, but of course he lied.

Harry unwrapped his gift and took out an expensive looking blue sweater with the words I LOVE BRUNETTES embroidered on the front in bold, cursive lettering.

Draco laughed when both Harry and Hermione turned a bright shade of red. It was only when the rest of the people in the living room looked at Harry and Hermione's faces did they get the meaning behind Draco's gift.

Hermione received a basket full of books wrapped in see-through plastic wrapper. She frowned at Draco as soon as he handed the gifts to her.

"Open it and check out one of the books," he urged.

Hermione did what she was told and unwrapped her gift. Snatching a small pocketbook from the pile he got her, she blushed again at the photo of the couple on the cover. It was a muggle pocketbook that she enjoyed reading every now and then. On the cover of the book was a picture of a half-naked man wrapped only in white bed sheet while a similarly half-naked woman was beside him striking a seductive pose. She flipped the front cover and nearly chocked when she read what Malfoy wrote on the first page: _I bet you wanna do these with Potter._

"_Draco Malfoy!_" she screamed and threw the gold ribbon he used to tie the see-through plastic wrapper together.

Draco laughed and winked at her, "I'm sure you're going to enjoy reading those books," he teased.

Janelle was a tough person to select a gift for since he hardly knows her, but with Hermione's help he managed to find a somewhat unique present for her. He got her a rare wizards chess with players from two popular Quidditch teams as pawns.

Janelle nearly blew their eardrums off with her squeal of delight upon opening her present. She was always the reserved kind amongst the three of them (her, Twyla, and Ginny), but this time all her reserve vanished and she flung herself at her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and gave him the biggest hug ever. She even planted a chaste kiss on his cheek before she pulled away.

"Thank you _soooo_ much! Do you know how long I've been searching for _this_ kind of wizards chess? I've been wanting it since it came out last summer!" her eyes were alight with glee as she hugged the chessboard close to her chest, "Thanks, Professor!"

"Wow...jeez, Ron, if you want Janelle to hug and kiss you like she did Malfoy, get her a wizards chessboard with Quidditch players for pawns," George teased, jabbing his youngest brother on the side.

"Shut up, George!" Janelle and Ron yelled at the annoying twin in unison.

George merely chuckled and returned to reading the book he just got from Draco.

For Twyla's gift, Draco was a little apprehensive. He wasn't really the kind of person who would romantically tease someone to the person they liked, but he was under Hermione's influence so with her help he got Twyla's gift. It was a heart-shaped crystal frame with a picture of Percy inside that Hermione took from Ginny.

"Draco Malfoy, this is _sooooo_ underhandedly subtle _and_ evil!" Twyla nearly strangled him to death while her face was turning to yet another blotchy red colour, but the look in her eyes told Draco she appreciated his gift.

As for Ginny's gift, Draco was a bit anxious to give it to her. It actually took him a while before he could decide what gift to give her when out of the blue inspiration struck him. He handed Ginny a small, velvet package with a small card on top that read: _May this always remain close to your heart._

Ginny slowly opened the box and her breath got caught in her throat when she saw what was in it. It was a gold chained necklace with a dragonfly pendant, on its wings it bore her birthstone (alexandrite) that sparkled and changed colours from red to green.

Everybody around them was in awe at Draco's present to the only female Weasley offspring. Ginny carefully took the necklace from its bed and held it up for everybody else to see, the alexandrite stone changing colours at the lights hit it.

"That's a wicked gift, Ginny!" cooed Janelle as she stared at the intricately carved dragonfly pendant bearing the stones on its wings.

"Thanks," Ginny smiled and turned to look at the bearer of the gift. "It's beautiful. Thank you."

Draco returned her warm smile and inclined his head, "You're welcome."

"Well," Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands, breaking the warm moment between Draco and Ginny. "Now that Draco has given us his gifts, I think it's high time _we_ give him our presents," she smiled at the group gathered around the living room.

Draco looked shocked at the news. "What?" he stared in wide-eyed disbelief at the elder woman sitting on the armchair near him.

"Now, now, Draco, don't tell me you didn't think _you_ won't be getting any presents now, do you?" Mr. Weasley asked him teasingly.

"But...but I wasn't expecting any gifts from you guys," he admitted.

"Well, you're a part of this family this Christmas so it's only natural that we buy presents for you too," Mrs. Weasley said matter-of-factly then with the use of her wand she levitated her gift to Draco from under the Christmas tree. "Now, open this one first. It's not much, but I hope you like it."

Draco took the present wrapped in a red dragon skin-like wrapper. He knew the wrapper was bewitched to make it feel like dragon's skin, but what he didn't expect that it was a coiled-up dragon breathing live fire that nearly singed his eyebrows when he tried to open it!

"_Fred! George!_" Mrs. Weasley her prankster sons a stern glare, she knew they were the ones responsible for _that_ trick. "I'm sorry, dear, seems like my sons decided to play a trick on you," she apologized to Draco on behalf of the twins.

"It's alright, Mrs. Weasley," Draco smiled and carefully unwrapped the gift. Inside was a black woolen sweater with a silver _D_ embroidered on the upper left side. He knew it was handmade and turned to give the woman who gave him something that she made with her very own hands a warm smile, "It's beautiful. T-thank you."

Mrs. Weasley blushed and leaned over to gave him an affectionate pat on the cheek, "I'm glad you liked it."

Mr. Weasley cleared his throat and levitated his gift from under the tree. It was small compared to his wife's gift, and Draco could only guess what it was Arthur Weasley got him for Christmas.

He cleared his throat before speaking, "I don't know just of how much use this is to you, but I heard it's very helpful to some people," he said.

Draco unwrapped his second present and grinned when he saw a muggle wristwatch inside. It had black, leather straps, semi-oval-shaped face with gold sidings; and the numbers looked like it was glowing.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Draco lifted his head and smiled at the man.

"Glad you liked it, boy," Mr. Weasley said proudly.

Next was Bill's gift which he carefully selected before he came back home for the holidays. It was a single earring with a black serpent dangling from it.

"I heard you were such a bad boy back in school from what Ron and Harry talked about, so I figured you might want to continue on with the tradition with this earring," he explained, "I heard chicks digs the earring," he chuckled and gave him a knowing wink.

Draco laughed and thanked Bill for his gift.

Next was Charlie's gift. It was a letter opener designed as a dagger with a gold dragon handle. "You never know _when_ you'll need to use one for self-defense," Charlie winked when Draco gave him a confused look about the dagger-slash-letter opener.

Percy's gift to him came as a surprise. With a smug smile on the middle Weasley son, Draco unwrapped his gift and nearly laughed at his present. It was a book on successful relationships.

"I think you will also need this, Weasley," Draco remarked as he examined the summary at the back cover of the book.

"Not when I have this book you gave me to read," Percy replied back.

"Touché," Draco nodded and proceeded to opening the next gift handed to him. This time it was from the twins, and he was more than apprehensive to open it up just in case something explode in his face.

"Don't worry, Malfoy, we promise you it won't singe your eyebrows--or your hairline," assured Fred.

"Yeah. We already had that fun with Mum's gift to ya," chuckled George.

Draco then carefully unwrapped the twins' joint gift and raised an eyebrow when he saw that it was another book. _Man, these Weasley boys sure love to read a lot,_ he thought and turned it around to look at the cover. Draco's breath got caught in his throat when he saw a picture of a young Ginny on the cover smiling up at him, then on the far background he saw the twins waving their fisted hands at him and boring a look of pure outrage. He read the title and burst out laughing.

"_Rules on Dating My Little Sister_ by Fred and George Weasley," he read out loud, he lifted his gaze and met the grinning twins' eyes, "Like I'll be needing this," he snorted.

"Oh, that's just in case you decide to ask my sister out," Fred said calmly.

"Yeah, right," Draco shook his head and set the gift aside. He grabbed the next one on the pile and read the tag on whose it from. It was from Ron. He felt the gift first through the wrapping and nearly let out an exasperated sigh when he figured it was yet another book. Looking at the youngest Weasley son, he arched an eyebrow and said, "You guys sure _love_ to read, don't ya?"

Ron was grinning like the Cheshire cat as he urged Draco to unwrap his gift, which he eventually did. He was right, of course. It was another book.

"_Break Her Heart and You Wish You Weren't Born_ by Miz Lovelorn," he read the title and the author of the book. He raised an eyebrow and gave Ron a comical look, "Oh puh-lease, Weasley! It's not like I'm going to break Ginny's heart!"

"That's just a warning, Malfoy, just in case you decided to pursue my sister and do a wild number on her--like the wild numbers you did on your numerous _ex_-girlfriends," Ron reminded.

"Yeah, yeah, what-ever, Weasley," Draco set the book aside and picked up the next one on the pile. It was from Harry. Based on the shape of the gift he could just assume it was yet _another_ book warning him of the consequences he would face if ever he decided to date Ginny. "If this is _another_ book, Potter, I swear I'll scream!" he admitted, his gray eyes turning into tiny slits as he glared at Harry.

Harry merely chuckled and told him to open it. He didn't say if it was a book or not, he just let Draco find out from himself.

"Holy crap!" Draco exclaimed when he extracted a unique looking frame. It was a half lion, half snake picture frame, both the animals' facing each other and in it was a picture of him and Ginny playing Quidditch a month ago. He looked up and frowned at Harry, "How'd you get his picture?" he asked curiously.

"Simple. I asked Colin to snap a picture of you and Ginny--separately of course--but then he hit a jackpot and snapped a picture of the two of you playing Quidditch," he explained with a big grin plastered on his face.

"_What?_" the entire Weasley boys were surprised and Percy, who was near Draco, snatched the frame and looked at the picture of a laughing Ginny circling around Malfoy while perched on their broomsticks. She was throwing the quaffle up in the air as she circled him.

"Who won the game?" he asked after Bill snatched the picture frame from him.

"Who else?" Draco was almost embarrassed to reply.

"Ginny kicked your arse?!" Ron was incredulous then he burst out laughing, "Malfoy's arse got kicked by a girl!" he screamed and burst out laughing.

Ginny rolled her eyes and reached over Harry and Hermione to smack Ron to shut him up. "Stop laughing, Ron. It's not like you can do any better if you and Janelle go head-to-head in Quidditch," she smirked.

Next on the list was Hermione's gift. Draco knew without bothering to open it that it was another book, but unlike this others, this was less thicker and more wider. He quickly unwrapped it and guffawed as he read the title out loud, "_The Amazing Bouncing Ferret Boy_ by Mione Ranger," and on the front cover was a picture of a ferret bouncing down a flight of stairs similar to that of the Hogwarts staircases.

Ginny snatched the book from Draco and read and re-read the author's name before it finally clicked in. She raised a pair of smiling brown eyes and squealed in delight.

"Mione, you got your first children's book published!" she jumped at her friend and gave her a hug, "Congratulations!"

Hermione laughed and hugged Ginny back, "Thanks. And Malfoy got first dibs on the first printed copy," she looked away from Ginny and met Draco's gaze, "I even signed it for you so they will know it's an original copy."

Draco opened the book and there it was, on the very first page signed using gold, sparkling ink, was a note to him. _Treat her well, Ferret Boy, or you'll have to answer to me._

"Thanks, Granger," he muttered and closed the book.

Janelle's gift to him was a gray robe made with pure silk and an overlapping _G_ and _D_ embroidered on the upper left side. It looked very expensive and he liked the material. Twyla's gift was yet another book, but unlike the ones he received from the other three Weasley brothers, Twyla's gift was more along the lines of what Percy gave him. The book was called _200 Ways on Wooing the Girl of Your Dreams_.

"Like she needs some wooing," Draco chuckled and looked up to give Twyla a wink, "I think this ought to be given to Percy, don't you think so?" he teased.

Twyla turned a bright shade of red and glared at her teacher. Draco laughed and thanked her for the gift. God knows he will have enough book to read when he was bored out of his mind at Hogwarts.

Ginny was the last one to present him her gift. It was wrapped in silver and gold sparkly wrapper with a red ribbon tied around it. It was a big box so Draco knew instantly it wasn't a book or a picture frame. She carefully handled her gift to him as she passed it over.

"It's the best I could find," she admitted as she watched with great anticipation as he slowly unwrapped his last present.

Everyone held their breaths when Draco tore the wrapper away and revealed crystal dragon figurine encased in a glass case. It was the most beautiful piece of figurine he has seen.

Draco was speechless. He lifted his gaze from the crystal figurine slowly and met Ginny's from across the room.

"Thanks, Ginger."

Ginny returned his smile, love seen through her eyes. "You're welcome, Blondie."

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

**A/N:** _phew!_ this is a very damn long chapter! but I hope you guys liked it. as for the gifts, well I'd like to thank **Blu Misterie, tigereyes320, moo, Jade Stellar, MelissaAdams, hasapi, **and **Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey** for all their wonderful ideas that I managed to use in _this_ chappie. thank you guys!

**A/N2:** okay, normally I would respond to my lovely reviewers one by one, but seeing as this is a very long chapter _and_ I'm not really feeling that well (I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning), I'll just answer all the questions at one shot here and thank you all for reviewing.

**A/N3:** okay, I'll be posting the questions asked in italics and beside it in bold are my response, aight? sorry guys, can't reply to you one by one, but I'm going to answer all your questions (or even commetns) as best as I can...

_Who made the stairs creak?_ **can't you guys guess? hehehehe :::wink, wink::: there's a certain someone sporting a turtleneck sweater...**

_They heard the sound from upstairs. So. is it possible that someone had the same snogging ideas (H/Hr - in which case they would know something fishy is going on). Or that he/she came downstairs, saw them, then went up and then made the sound??_ **well to answer this question...hmm...I think I'll have to explain HOW it creaked, but you can already guess WHO made it creak, right???**

_Ginny gets him in the end right.?_ **what do you think? hehehe, of course she's going to get him...and she's going to get him good!!! bwahahahahaha**

_Poor Draco, thinking he isn't good enough for Ginny. Dumb boy.they are gonna get together permanently, aren't they?? AREN'T THEY?_ **he IS good enough for Ginny, but sometimes you know how some people think...and of course they're going to get together! (this is kinda like the same as the above question, hehehehe)**

_why do all the guys ALWAYS think they are not worthy enough? i mean why dont they ask us if we think they are worthy? let us decide instead of going ahead and 'try to find someone worthy' god i hate it when guys do that! draco's gonna do that isn't her? huh?_** some people jump into conclusions (like our Draco here), but sometimes the conclusions they jump in to aren't the right ones. as for the last question...well, we'll just have to wait and see what Draco actually do**

_i think u sorta have draco's character wrong.he's suppose to be the "bad boy" and ginny is suppose to be the "good girl"._ **Draco is STILL a bad boy, but around Ginny he's all putty *lol***

_and out of curiousity, where did you get the name Twyla?_ **I got this name from my cousin's classmate-slash-housemate and liked it instantly. and when I was thinking of names for Ginny's friends that name just came to me and it got stuck**


	27. I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** stupid hotmail said I already sent my maximum amount of emails to send in a 24-hour period so I only got to send an update notice for chapter 26 to the peeps in my first batch of email update list! I can't believe hotmail has a limit on how many emails you can send within a 24-hour period! anyways, last chapter was a really long one. I couldn't believe how _long_ it was, actually. anyways, I hope you enjoyed and with this next one I'll try to get a bit more fluffness between Draco and Ginny...and perhaps Harry and Hermione...Percy and Twyla...or even Ron and Janelle! ::giggles::: we'll just have to see really how many fluffies & snogginess I can insert in _this_ chapter

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**XXVII. I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas**

Ginny peered out the kitchen window later that night after everyone has settled in for the evening. Her parents were in the living room enjoying a hot cup of cocoa while watching the fire. Bill and Charlie were keeping their parents entertained by catching-up with the goings-on in their lives. The twins were up to no good, as usual, reading up on the book Draco gave them and practicing the hexes on poor Ron. Twyla was still sporting a turtleneck and couldn't be left alone with Percy in the same room without blushing furiously (they were no where to be found right now). Ron and Janelle were engaged in a deep battle of wizards chess using Janelle's new chessboard (Ron's losing terribly to a _girl_). Harry and Hermione were in the kitchen talking about whatever it was they often talked about--Ginny noticed how _close_ they were sitting beside each other--while Draco was outside wearing a black jacket with the parka over his head (probably to stop the cold air from freezing his ears).

Setting down the cloth she was using to wipe her hands dry, she looked over her shoulder and told the couple occupying the kitchen that she was just going to step outside. She shouldn't have bothered, really, since neither one seemed to notice that she had spoken. Grabbing her coat hanging from the peg near the kitchen doors leading to the back patio, she slipped it on and her gloves before stepping outside into the cold night. It snowed a few days before they came home from Hogwarts so the snow on the ground were pretty much shoveled off the pathway.

Draco stood by the shed, his hands in his jacket pockets whilst his head was slightly tilted back, gazing at the night sky. It was a clear night tonight. There was a full moon shining down on them and casting the entire backyard with its light.

"Nice night," she decided to break the silence and alert him of her presence.

Draco tore his gaze from the night sky and looked over his shoulder at the petite redhead standing just a few steps away from him.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"I could ask the same about you," she replied, slipping her gloved hands inside her jacket pockets and closed the distance between them, standing right beside him, her brown eyes meeting and holding his gray ones.

"I needed a quiet place to think. You have such a big family it was damn near impossible to think in there," he replied, breaking eye contact with her and stared ahead.

"You need to think about what?" she asked, intrigued at him suddenly retreating back into his shell. She watched him all day and he looked like he was having fun. No, scratch that. He _was_ having fun today with her family.

Draco remained quiet for a few seconds, the only sound could be heard was the wind gently blowing some snowflake from the pile that was shoveled aside to create a path. Ginny made sure her jacket was zipped up nicely so she wouldn't be cold, she even flipped the parka over her head to help alleviate the stingy cold wind from turning her ears to icicles.

"Draco?"

Draco turned at the sound of his given name from her lips, "I never had what you have in there," he jerked his head towards the direction of the house, his gray eyes holding her brown gaze. "I grew up in a house that wasn't a home. We celebrate Christmas. Gifts were given. My father throws a party every once in a while. My mother _never_ cooked us a Christmas dinner, she always left it for the house elves to do. I'd be lucky if my father was home to have dinner with us on Christmas or even on Christmas Eve," he said.

Ginny's eyebrows furrowed at the center of her forehead, "I don't understand."

"Ginny, what you have in there is a family. Your parents, your brothers, Potter, Granger, Twyla, and Janelle. _They_ are your family and I feel like an intruder, a spectator watching from the other side of the window," he explained with a heavy sigh.

"You're _not_ an intruder, Draco," she told him, reaching out a gloved hand to cup his cheek. "You _are_ part of this family. You _are_ family now."

"Am I?" he sounded whimsical.

Ginny tilted her head to the side and stepped up closer to him, "When I told you that you're coming home with me for the holiday, I thought you'd have a hard time fitting in with everybody here in the house," she paused and gave a slight shrug, "And probably I'd feel some sort of grim satisfaction at _you_ feeling uneasy around _my_ family and probably get your arse kicked by any one of my brothers or even Harry for that matter, but after my parents welcomed you with open arms into our home and the rest of my brothers and Harry followed their example I realized that the real reason why I told you to come was because I wanted to _share_ my family with you."

Draco grabbed her hand cupping his cheek and removed the glove to plant an affectionate kiss on the palm of her hand and whilst it was still pressed against his cheek he covered her hand with his own.

"Then I should thank you for sharing your family with me then. I never had a happy childhood Christmas memory, but this year..._you_ changed it for me," he admitted, "Now I'll have a new memory that is definitely worth cherishing."

Ginny smiled, "Well I'm glad I was able to provide you with one."

Draco returned her warm smile. His eyes holding her gaze still, he moved his head slowly until their lips were just a fraction of an inch apart. Ginny held her breath for another kiss that would sure melt the icicles forming on her legs. She counted one heartbeat...two...three...her eyes closed instantly when Draco's cold lips pressed against hers, gently caressing her frozen lips until the ice melted and they were responding to one another.

His hands dropped to her side, grasping her tiny waist before closing his arms around her and hauled her up against him, hearing her whimper as the slight movement caused their teeth to scrape against each other's. Ginny's arms snaked up and wrapped themselves around his neck, pulling him closer to her and deepened the kiss. She was bold enough to let her tongue snake out and cajoled his lips to part. They were oblivious to the sudden picking up of the wind or the white flakes that suddenly fell from the sky, covering them in the glittering white snow as they continued to kiss.

From the kitchen window Hermione couldn't stop herself from letting out a content sigh as she watched the couple making out outside. Harry stood beside her, his shoulder being used as a pillow by her as they watched Ginny and Draco.

"They should really stop that before any one of her brothers catches them," Harry said, looking worriedly at the madly in love couple.

"Shh," Hermione placed her index finger against his lips to shut him up, "Just let them be. Those two have been screaming _attraction_ since I first saw them in the train compartment our first day at Hogwarts this year. They've both been playing down their mutual attraction to one another since then, I think it's high time they both _act_ on it."

"As long as they're bloody careful not to get caught. _And_ that git better not think of hurting her or else he'd wish he was never born," Harry's hand clenched into a tight fist on the counter where he placed it, his eyes fixed on the blond sucking faces with the girl whom Harry came to love as the sister he never had.

"I don't think Malfoy will actually hurt Ginny," Hermione said confidently, "He loves her."

"Are you sure?" Harry sounded skeptical and Hermione couldn't really blame him. After all, a Malfoy that knows _how_ to love? It just sounded too ludicrous to be true! "I still say they stop snogging or at least get a room before anybody else catches them," he insisted.

Hermione chuckled and pushed herself away from him. Turning her back to the window and the couple outside, she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.

"Must be fun to fall in love," she cooed, a dreamy look glazing her brown eyes.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her comment, "What makes you say that?"

"Just look at Malfoy and Ginny," she jerked her head at the couple outside, "They're so madly in love with each other it's so sweet! And they're happy."

"Yeah, they're happy 'coz they can suck each other's faces anytime," he commented dryly.

Hermione gave him a swift jab on the rib and shook her head, "It's not just about snogging, Potter. Did you see their faces when they gave each other gifts? That was _amour_," she emphasized more on the French word for love, watching Harry's face as he rolled his eyes at her romanticism.

"Jeez! Guys and romance doesn't always go hand-in-hand," she muttered and pushed away from the counter, "I pity every girl who ends up with a guy who doesn't have a single romantic bone...in his..." Hermione's voice trailed off when Harry's hand grabbed her by the wrist, turning her around to face him, his green eyes holding her brown gaze steady as he closed the distance between them.

Hermione held her breath until Harry's dark head slowly came closer to hers.

"...body," she whispered before Harry's lips covered hers.

Anybody believe in hearing or seeing fireworks when being kissed? Hermione sure did. How many years of pent-up emotions came with this kiss, and she was enjoying every moment of it!

Meanwhile in the dimply lit room of Percy Weasley, two bodies lay on the rumpled bed, a blanket haphazardly thrown over their sweat-soaked bodies as they listened to the muffled sound of their family on the other side of the closed doors.

Twyla lay on her stomach, her face propped against Percy's chest while the third Weasley son twirled her curly blond hair on his index finger. They both looked exhausted, but happy; extremely happy that their stupid, dopey grins couldn't be erased from their faces.

"Now we can't tell people we're not together after what just happened," Twyla broke the silence by stating what first came to her mind.

Percy chuckled and leaned down to plant a loving kiss on the crown of her head. Falling back against his pillows propped against the headboard, he let out a content sigh.

"I love you, Twyla Isaacs," he admitted after a few seconds lapsed.

Twyla lifted her head from his chest and searched his face for any indication that he was joking, but his expression was dead serious.

"Are you serious?" she asked when she could no longer stand the suspense. "You love me? You really, truly, madly, deeply love me?"

Percy chuckled at the mixed emotions he was getting from Twyla. She was surprised at his announcement, and so was he! He has had feelings for the bubbly blond since he first met her, but he only put it down as brotherly affection; nothing more, nothing less.

"Why is that hard to believe?" he asked.

"Because you never showed any indication that you love me as more than just a sister until last night, that's why!"

"That's because I didn't realize how much you mean to me until after Penny did what she did," he explained.

Twyla frowned. "Huh?"

"When I was with Penny, I never felt like I'm in a serious relationship. I kept on thinking about _you_ when I should be concentrating on just _her_. Sure Penny and I went out for how many years and got engaged even, but the odd thing about it was...well, let's just say that I look forward to seeing _you_ more when you visit compared to when I am to see my fiancée."

Twyla's eyes widened. "You're kidding!"

"I wish I am, Twyla, but I'm not," he answered wholeheartedly.

"Oh Percy Weasley, I love you too!" she squealed in delight, framing his face in her hands and pulled him for a chaste kiss on the lips. She pulled away almost reluctantly, she held his gaze and smiled, "I thought last night was just a dream, you know? You and me making out on the top landing of the stairs instead of going down to join Ginny and Malfoy for a cup of chocolate, but then I woke up this morning and saw that huge hickey on my neck! I was mortified. My making out with you in the dark on top of the stairs wasn't a dream at all! Good thing I was the only one left in the room. I don't think I would've been able to explain the hickey marks to the others," she admitted.

"But I think wearing the sweater gave it away," he chuckled. "Bill and Charlie obviously knew you were hiding a hickey," he pointed out.

Twyla made a face at him and rested her chin on his chest, her eyes gazing at him lovingly. "That's because wearing a turleneck isn't really that subtle, you know," she reminded him.

"You could've used a concealing charm," he answered matter-of-factly.

"How? I'm still an underage witch away from Hogwarts," she reminded him.

"Good point," Percy nodded, "But still, you could've always asked me to perform the charm on you," he shrugged.

"Well the damage's been done. Anyway, it was only Bill and Charlie who made such a big deal about my turleneck."

"And I'm sure they're over the issue by now," he said dryly.

"Right, but something tells me your brothers won't let it slide so easily," she answered.

"Oh they will, unless I spill their secrets to Mum and Dad," Percy had a menacing grin on his voice at the thought of his secret weapon against his older siblings.

"What is it?" Twyla's curiosity was piqued.

"Promise you won't tell?" he grinned.

"Percy Weasley, _I'm_ being teased mercilessly by your two older brothers. It's good to have a weapon to use _against_ them, you know?"

"Good point," he agreed. "Anyway, I heard that both Bill and Charlie are courting a couple of nice ladies. Bill likes this French girl who grew-up in Egypt who works with him. Charlie is fancying Fleur Delacour whom he met briefly--and quite by accident--when he went to France last summer with a couple of his friends. Fleur instantly recognized him for being a Weasley since...well, since she fancied Bill a while back."

"Oooh...and your parents doesn't know about this?" Twyla giggled.

"Bill and Charlie are trying to keep their so-called romances under wraps for now. They don't want to keep everybody's hopes up until they're certain it's going to last."

"Ooh, _cela est magnifique!_" she giggled, using the native tongue of her mother that she hasn't used in a long while.

"_Oui, ma' suis,_" he replied, using the same tongue she just used.

"I sure hope Bill and Charlie's French ain't rusty," Twyla chuckled, turning on her back and pushed herself against the headboard.

Percy looped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her closer to him, "Charlie admitted to be needing lessons in French since half of what he and Fleur talked about he didn't understand! As for Bill, he said Antionette is pretty good in English unlike Fleur whose main language is French."

Twyla laughed and shook her head, "Well I'm sure this won't be too hard for _anybody_ to understand. _Je vous aime,_ Percy Weasley," she smiled.

Percy grinned and captured her chin between his thumb and forefinger, "_Et je vous aime aussi,_ Twyla Isaacs," he answered back before covering her lips with his once again.

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**A/N:** aaaaalllllrighty! a bit shorter than the previous chapter, but there's fluff-galore here! *lol* I mean, I got 3 out of my 4 couples to make out--isn't that an accomplishment? hehehe :::winks::: anyway, did you like it? did you enjoy the Percy/Twyla fluffiness? guess their love story played out real good. as for the French phrases/words, here's the translation:

_cela est magnifique:_ **that's magnificent**

_Oui, ma' suis:_ ** yes, ma'am**

_Je vous aime:_ **I love you**

_Et je vous aime auss:_ **And I love you too**

**A/N2:** French is _not_ my first language and I am not at all familiar with that language so please, if these ain't all right, I do beg your pardon. I just used an online translation dictionary to base these phrases on so they could be right or they couldn't be right.

**A/N3:** jeez, aren't my a/n's getting longer and longer? anyways, I know I skipped out on individually responding to my reviewers in the previous chappie, now that I'm feeling a bit better, I'll do my best to respond to as many reviewers as I can, alright? and to those that I may miss out in my individual shout-outs, I'm sorry but you know I love you all and thank you all soooo very much!

**goodgirlsbadboys:** D/G are ooc in this one, eh? I know they are, but I just can't seem to write a D/G fic (or any other fic) where I actually stick the actual character's character in the books (or TV or movie), hehehe

**Mystical Starlight:** so...you're inspired to snuggle beside some hunky guy in front of a roaring fire and make out?

**hasapi:** glad you enjoyed chappie 26. I enjoyed writing about it. when I was done I couldn't believe I wrote a _really long_ chapter!!! @_@ anyways, yep, so Percy ain't dense and he gave Twyla a hickey and now...hehehehe, well, I think he and Twyla did more than just suck each other's faces in this chappie :::winks:::

**Cay:** sometimes when Draco's being silly he's always sexy and dreamy *lol*

**buttercup_rc:** I know, ff.net's giving me a hard time too quite a lot of times now

**Megan:** thanks!

**Hunter:** Draco's kinda having a hard time thinking happy thoughts since he's not really used to the kind of 'family' the Weasleys have

**hpangel:** mmm....steamy, hot chocolate on a cold, gray, rainy day....yummy!

**Quis:** thank you

**Kim:** sometimes ff.net takes _forever_ to upload the chapters

**Xtremegrl2020:** I posted chapter 26 and _didn't_ take it out. ff.net's doing its usual funky thing again @_@

**Beccs:** 200% adorable??? wow...hehehe, well, uhm...I'm speechless! :::grins:::

**Lia:** I'm glad I made it another kick ass funny chapter. and I did enjoy writing about the twins kissing Jan and Mione--they just _looove_ pissing Harry and Ron off 'coz they're too damn chicken to act on their feelings! *lol*

**Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey:** HERE'S what happened next, hehehehe

**Excillian:** thanks for liking the fic! and my first finished D/G fic took place when Draco was in his 7th year and Ginny was in her 6th year...it took me a while to conceive the idea for _this_ story

**Miss Marauder:** the book titles are all hilariously funny! of course the only book idea I conceived was the one Hermione gave Draco, the one Ron gave Draco, the one Twyla gave Draco, and...hmmm....can't think of what else but the others were ideas from my lovely reviewers who helped me with gift ideas

**Crystal:** I know it was a very long chapter...I couldn't believe it after I was done writing it! *lol*

**death:** books became a somewhat theme for the gifts, but of course giving away books is a nice way of giving out hints so the books got stuck there as the majority of the gifts given and received *lol*

**avapouhi:** I thought making them call each other by the pet names they gave one another would add a much nicer, _more meaningful_ touch near the ending of the chapter

**DannyGirl:** I didn't have time to think of the gifts the other guys got (if I did I think chappie 26 would've been _really_ long) *lol* and yep, I enjoyed them picking on Percy

**MelissaAdams:** hmmm...well the crystal dragon figurine is like an art...well, it's a figurine (or statue) of a dragon made out of real crystals....hmm...well, more like a sculpture of a dragon made out of crystal--did that make any sense? and the figurine was housed in a glass case if he wants to put it on display


	28. Back to Hogwarts

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** to all those who corrected my mistakes when I tried my hands at "speaking" French...I thank you sooo much! :::hugs each and every one of those who knows French fluently::: I know I shouldn't trust some friggin' online translator, but since I am neither French nor do I speak it fluently, I just rely on some software to provide me with some help. anyways, I didn't mind you guys pointing out my mistakes, I so totally love it! I mean, at least I know what I did wrong, right? hehehe, thank you all for enjoying the last two chapters!

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**XXVIII. ****Back to Hogwarts**

Bill and Charlie stayed at the Burrow until the day after New Year's/ Percy and Twyla remained mum about their relationship from the others, enjoying a little game of I-know-something-you-don't-want-to-be-known with the two eldest Weasleys. Bill and Charlie hinted that Percy and Twyla knew about Antionette and Fleur, but they couldn't be certain if their hunch was true or not. Nevertheless it stopped the brothers from teasing the two.

Harry and Hermione were slowly working on _how_ to work on their budding romance. It was driving Ron and Janelle insane trying to get those two together after they caught them making out in the kitchen at Christmas. They just finished their fifth round of wizards chess (Ron lost all five times) and decided to grab something to drink from the kitchen when they saw Harry and Hermione locked in a very passionate kiss that wouldn't have stopped if it hadn't been for Ron clearing his damn throat.

They must've taken those two by surprise because they quickly sprung apart, cheeks flaming from embarrassment and excused themselves. Hermione grabbed her jacket and went outside while Harry went out into the living room, leaving Ron and Janelle grinning like a couple of idiots at having acquired something to use against those two.

"You know you're damn lucky it was Janelle and I who caught you two necking," Ron said to Hermione matter-of-factly as he, Harry, Percy, and the twins took Hermione, Draco, Ginny, Janelle, and Twyla to Kings Cross.

"Ron's right," agreed Janelle, "Imagine if it were one of the twins or Mr. and Mrs. Weasley or even Bill or Charlie that walked in at that precise moment!" Janelle's eyes were wide from shock at just thinking about what their reactions would be.

Harry, who was behind the wheel of the SUV going through the busy streets of London ahead of the mini-van Percy was driving, kept his eyes glued on the cars ahead and his hands firmly gripping the wheel tight. Ron and Janelle wouldn't stop talking about that night almost a week ago! In case they haven't noticed, it was making him and Hermione feel so damn uncomfortable just by thinking about! It was a spur of the moment action that shouldn't have happened, but it did, and he doesn't know why. Hermione hadn't said anything to him after that night. He knew she went out to the backyard to warn Malfoy and Ginny that Ron was in the kitchen and he might catch them necking out there, and like bloody idiot that he was, he went into the living room and took solace in the company of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie; but Ron _was_ relentless!

He kept on badgering Harry about what his best friend would do now that he had taken the first step on wooing Ms. Hermione Granger. Harry had to restrain himself from wringing his other best friend's neck because he just wouldn't shut up about it!

Meanwhile in the other vehicle, Ginny and Draco were at the very back of the van, sitting quietly while holding hands--oblivious to the rest of the occupants of the van of course (Draco covered their entwined hands with his jacket). Fred and George were talking non-stop about all the hilarious hexes they did to Ron while Twyla sat at the very front of the van sitting so damn stiff Ginny wondered if her best friend had a stiff neck or what! Tugging on Draco's hand from underneath the jacket covering their laps, she caught her seatmate's attention and whispered,

"Do you have any idea _why_ Percy and Twyla are acting really strange lately since Christmas?"

Draco frowned and looked at the couple at the front of the van then back at her, "Probably they got some and now they don't know _how_ to deal with it," he gave a casual shrug and turned his attention back to the passing view of London outside the window.

"_Draco Malfoy!_" Ginny exclaimed, her brown eyes wide from disbelief at what he just said.

Fred and George stopped talking and turned to look at the commotion at the back of the van. Even Twyla whipped her head around and looked at what caused her friend to shriek like that. Ginny was oblivious to the attention she just garnered and started hitting Draco's arm.

"What's going on back there?" Percy questioned, glancing over the rearview mirror to see what his sister was doing to the blond teacher seated beside her. "Ginny, why are you hitting Malfoy?"

"Because...he's...being...a...sick-minded...prick!" Ginny replied in-between hitting Draco's arm.

"Why?" Twyla frowned.

Ginny stopped hitting her professor to address her friend, "Because I asked him _why_ you two were quiet and you know what he said?" she paused and looked at the three faces looking back at her, but neither one of them knew the answer so she continued, "He said that Percy and Twyla did the deed and now they don't know what to do about their relationship!"

The entire van fell into an uneasy silence after what Ginny just said. Surely she wasn't expecting _this_ kind of reaction from the four other occupants of the vehicle! She stopped hitting Draco and turned to look at the other four occupant of the van, her eyes nearly bugging out as she saw the guilty looks on the twins' face and Twyla's red face was a sure sign that something _did_ happen between her and Percy!

"Oh....my...God..." Ginny's jaw fell on her lap as she gaped at her best friend and the back of Percy's head.

Draco smirked and gave the red-faced Twyla a leering look and the back of Percy's head a look that could be translated as malicious.

"So, Weasley got to hit a homer," he chuckled.

"Wee-eell..." Fred began, darting an uncertain look at the couple seated at the front of the van then looked at George. Obviously the twins knew something about Percy and Twyla that none of the others knew.

"Well, what?" Ginny demanded, looking from one twin then to the other.

Fred and George exchanged looks then both looked over their shoulders at Twyla and Percy. Twyla's face looked like it was about to explode and they could only tell that Percy's face was the same shade as well considering how red his neck turned.

"Well, _what?_" Ginny asked again, "Fred? George?" her brown eyes moved back and forth between the twins once again, waiting for them to say more, but they were somewhat having second thoughts. Very unusual for the twins to act this way.

Draco, who was getting annoyed with the suspense, decided to butt in then.

"Fred and George obviously walked in on your brother and Twyla getting it o--"

"We walked in on them making out in Percy's room," George hastily cut in, looking scandalized at what Draco was about to imply.

"Bill forgot something before he left and asked me to grab it in Percy's room and that was when I saw them sucking each other's face off," Fred explained.

Draco merely raised an eyebrow and looked back at the red-faced couple at the front then smirked. Shaking his head he looked out the window once again while Ginny tried to pick her jaw off her lap.

"Whoa," was the only thing she could say after hearing that shocker of a news.

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Everyone filed out of the SUV and mini-van once they reached Kings Cross. Twyla made sure to stay the hell away from Percy and to avoid the twins as much as possible. Although they showed uncertainty at first when Ginny asked what they knew, Fred and George would find a way of teasing them with just a simple look or by mouthing something that would make Twyla blush like crazy!

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Janelle knew something was wrong the moment they stepped out of the SUV and caught up with the others. Percy's ears were so damn red, the cold wind whipping about couldn't be blamed for it. Twyla's face was as red as Percy's ears, but she looked a bit more jumpier than Percy himself. The twins...well, the twins were just sniggering amongst themselves whilst they helped Ginny and Draco unload some of their stuff off the back of the van. Ginny looked...well, she looked like she was still reeling from some sort of shock she just received; her eyes kept on darting back and forth between Percy and Twyla. Draco, on the other hand, appeared to act indifferent towards his surroundings. He was busy unloading their stuff off the back of the van and grabbed some trolleys for each and every one of them to use.

Janelle frowned at the weird air surrounding Twyla and Percy that she had to drag Ginny aside and asked, "What happened in the van on your way here?"

"What are you talking about?" Ginny feigned innocence although she couldn't help herself from grinning at what she knows.

"C'mon Gin, you know what I mean. Something's up between Perce and T--and the twins _obviously_ knows something's going on. Now _I_ hate being kept in suspense here."

"You won't get any answer from her, Harris, so don't even bother questioning her," interrupted Draco as he hauled his luggage and Ginny's into one trolley while he left the other one he grabbed for Janelle to use.

Janelle raised an eyebrow at her professor and asked, "And why not?"

"Because we ain't telling, that's why," he winked and with a sly grin maneuvered the trolley containing his stuff and Ginny's towards the platform. "Now go kiss your Weasley boyfriend goodbye. I'm sure he's happily anticipating a parting kiss from you," he teased before pushing the trolley away.

Janelle sent her professor a death glare, creating a hole right through his back as he walked away from them, leaving her and Ginny to load her belongings on to the trolley.

"God, your boyfriend could sure teach your brothers and Harry a few tricks at subtlety," Janelle tsked as she hauled her luggage on to the trolley.

Ginny gave her friend a scandalized look, "Draco Malfoy is _not_ my boyfriend!" she denied heatedly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Janelle muttered and continued to ignore her soon blushing friend.

"And _you_ took a page right off Draco Malfoy's book on being subtle," Ginny hissed and helped her friend load the last of her stuff on to the trolley.

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Hermione and Draco pretty much kept to themselves on the compartment they shared with the three Gryffindor girls. Colin was suppose to join them but he was dragged away by another one of their housemates--and a possible love interest--to join them instead, leaving Janelle, Twyla, and Ginny yakking amongst themselves.

They were almost near the train station at Hogsmeade when four figures lumbered into the compartment the three girls were sharing with the two professors, each one of them looking more menacing than the other. Derek Boones was the leader of the fray and stood between his three goons.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here," Derek sneered, his blue eyes scanning the five occupants of the room, then his gaze stopped when he saw Draco sitting side by side with Hermione and actually having a _normal_ conversation with the Muggle born. "You're a disgrace to all Slytherin students, Malfoy," he spat after a couple of seconds lapsed.

"What the hell are you doing here, Derek?" it was Ginny who spoke, taking Derek's attention from Draco to turn to her.

The corners of Derek's mouth curled into a sly grin, his blue eyes traveling up and down Ginny's body before resting on her face. Hermione had to hold Draco down before he took Derek's eyes out for looking at Ginny suggestively.

"Well Ginny, I came here to talk," he slipped his hands in his trouser pockets, shrugging his shoulders slightly and his grin dropped another notch sexier (or at least that was what Ginny thought when she dated him last year).

"Couldn't this wait until we get to school?"

"I'm afraid not," he shook his head.

"And _what_ is so important about this so-called _talk_ of yours that you wanted to have with Ginny that it couldn't wait?" demanded Twyla who hated being interrupted when she was in the middle of telling her story to her friends.

"It's none of your concern, Isaacs," Derek snapped.

"When it's got something to do with Ginny being alone with a slimeball like _you_ Boones, _we_ make out our concern," Janelle pointed out, jumping into Ginny's defense.

"Look who's talking," Derek snorted, his icy blue gaze moving from the redhead to the blond seated to Ginny's left, "You're no better than Granger over there," he jerked his head towards Hermione, "You're both filthy Mudbloods with--" Derek was cut off his tirade when he felt someone tapped him on the shoulder. Turning to see what one of his goons had to interrupt him for, Derek didn't see the owner of the fist the instantly connected with his nose, sending the blond Slytherin staggering into the compartment groaning and clutching his bleeding (_and_ possibly broken) nose.

"_Colin!_" Hermione, Ginny, Janelle, and Twyla exclaimed at the same time as soon as the person who punched Derek was revealed.

"Nobody bad-mouths my friend, Boones," Colin spat and walked in to the room to stand over Derek who was doubled-over on the floor of the compartment.

Derek's three bodyguards made a move to pull Colin back out and beat the snot out of him, but a quick flick of Hermione's wand and a piercing glare sent to the three cowardly Slytherins made them think twice about what they were about to do.

"Holy crap, Colin!" exclaimed Janelle when she finally overcome her shock at watching her friend punch somebody, "That was a good right hook there, buddy!"

"Yeah, nice move, Colin!" cheered Twyla who stepped over Derek, giving him a swift kick on the side before throwing herself at Colin for a hug.

Ginny grinned up at Colin and gave him a two thumbs-up while he was locked in a tight hug with Twyla. Hermione couldn't comment on Colin's ability to cause some serious bodily harm to a fellow student, but she was smiling proudly then looked down at the doubled-over Slytherin on the floor. Turning to her companion she said, "I think this compartment needs to be rid of this foul stench, Malfoy. Would you mind doing the honours, Professor?"

Draco snorted and got up from his seat. Bending over he grabbed Derek by the collar of his shirt and pulled him upright, "I hope you learned your lesson this time, Boones," he sneered at the blond boy and escorted him out of the compartment.

Ginny sat back and grinned. Yep, she was _definitely_ going back to Hogwarts, and something tells her this second term would be filled with a whole lot of surprises; one of them was Colin's ability to punch Derek Boones and actually made the latter's eyes tear-up because of the pain!

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**A/N:** a sucky chapter, I know, but c'mon guys, I'm trying to get as much action done and packed with this one coz...well, coz the end is near for this story--I just thought I'd warn you people. I dunno how many more chapters I'll be posting but the end is coming.

**A/N2:** okay, this is my shameless plugging of another fic I started dabbling with. It's an Oliver Wood/Katie Bell story which I just recently posted called _About That Night_--it'll be somewhat _connected_ to this fic (_Defense Against You_) because some of the characters from here will make an appearance there too. Check it out if you like and let me know what you think, aight?

**A/N3:** and speaking of some of my characters from _this_ story appearing in another story, I am planning on writing like some sequel-like stories focusing on the love lives of the couples I mentioned in this story. It's going to be like a saga of some sort, but I'll let you know when it's already finalized, alright? But I started it off with my Oliver/Katie story and we'll see how I move on from there

**A/N4:** finally I'd like to thank all those wonderful reviewers of mine who corrected me on my mistakes in the previous chapter (mostly it was those damn French words). I learned my lesson: NEVER TRUST A PROGRAM THAT AUTOMATICALLY TRANSLATES ENGLISH WORDS TO ANOTHER LANGUAGE!!! *lol* and since I am crunched for time here, I'll make my shout-outs a one-shot here, aight?

**PhoenixRae would like to thank the following reviewers:**

_Cheater531, slytherin-cool, Lia, wowsergirl, Talisa, Angharrad, xangelcrisis, kuro_tsubasa, Alexia Alexandra, Kodomo Cow, Sharlene, kellyanne, Beccs, Nicole, Redbug, fyrechild, Parie, JeRu, Isis The Goddess Of Life, animezebra, Polgara, Karlie Malfoy Dracos lil sis, Vanim, karen, Red Magic Marker, Cactuskitty_ (**the P/T scene was a little sick? awww...are you sure they did the deed, hehehehe :::winks:::**)_, MelissaAdams, Crystal, death, ashes, tigereyes320, purus.flere, SeZzA, Quis, Faltering Hues, JaNx, Jenn, Arella Hallo, hpdancer92_ (**i'm glad they finally kissed too :::winks:::**)_, *karly*_ (**welcome back! how was your vacation?**)_, Miss Marauder, Jade Stellar, avapouhi, hasapi _(**harry's never been dense...is he??? hehehehe**)_, Mrs. Felton, Eva_ (**as for making D/G an official couple...well, they're still on the 'courting' stage right now...but before the end they'll make that awesome announcement!**)_, me, Krissy, Dassa Mudruffin _(**you're so smart! hehehe, of course there's always got to be a catch somewhere :::winks:::**)_, Amy, emily, Butterflysky_ (**that's all right, you can ramble all you want, and to be quite honest, can't stand the r/herm pairing too...they're cute and all, but they're just so darn predictable so i don't particularly enjoy reading much about it**)_, Ladybug, ILOVERICKY!!!, luckyducky6289, The Elfin Child, Rogue Reviewer_ (**obviously you wanted this to end so I'm telling you now, it's going to end soon--maybe after five more chapters then it's over, but who knows?**)_, myobgirly, Loves-Kiss, song*breeze_ (**Becki!!! nice to hear from you again! *lol* been MIA, eh? so how are you liking the d/g ship so far in this story? hehehe**)_, Wizzabee, Starry, Lady Phoenix Feather, Mandy_ (**as a matter of fact I just finished _Mission: Capture the Heart of the Resident Bad Boy_ which was my first finished d/g fic**)_, Anh Da-o, Bluecolouredroses, hpangel, Black Crystal Dragon, omelette du fromage, Ali Lee, kat, Rei-Chan_ (**don't worry, i won't be mad at you :::smiles:::**)


	29. to Tell or Not to Tell

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** right now I'm not sure exactly _how_ I'm going to end this fic. I know I mentioned in the previous chapter that I started an Oliver Wood/Katie Bell story that would somehow have characters from this story appear in it (and vice-versa). so I might end this story without resolving anything much concerning Draco & Ginny's relationship and just watch out for it to be picked up on the next story(s) concerning the other couples in this fic OR end their story on a happy note, but I'm not sure yet which way to go. btw, thanks to those of you who checked out my Oliver/Katie story!

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**XXIX. to Tell or Not to Tell **

Long before the Hogwarts Express reached its destination at Hogsmeade, news of Colin Creevey giving Derek Boones a bloody nose (literally!) reached the rest of the students onboard the red steam engine. People started talking about it until they got to the castle and the news didn't die down until the first week of the new semester started. Colin felt proud for what he did and enjoyed basking in the glory of being surrounded by people who all wanted to hear what just happened. Janelle and Twyla merely rolled their eyes at their friend as they tried to fend off as much of Colin's excited 'fans' away from him. He was starting to get such an inflated head that the two friends contemplated on whether or not to pop it before it reached monstrous proportions!

Ginny, on the other hand, was quite busy thinking about Draco and what to call their so-called _relationship_ at the moment. So they had a moment at the Burrow during Christmas. Hermione caught them making out but didn't make much of a big deal about it, except to tell them to cut it out before Ron looked out the window and saw them necking. Making out with Draco Malfoy was a helluva good experience to have! Hell, she knew quite a lot of girls from her year (and younger) who'd kill just to have a chance to have Draco's strong arms wrap around them, but of course Ginny beat most of them off that chance since she already had a 'date' with the ever so famous Draco Malfoy and snogged with him twice!

Hermione told her to knock off her quiet musings about her feelings for Draco and just go up to him and _tell_ him exactly what she was feeling.

_As if!_ She'd die of embarrassment if ever she did something as brazen as _that!_ But then again what she did to Draco when she told him he was coming home with her to the Burrow for Christmas was far too _risqué_ than what Hermione asked her to do.

"Seducing the man and telling him what you really feel for him are two entirely different things, Virginia Weasley," Hermione pointed out to her one Friday afternoon when she decided to swing by Hermione's classroom after class for a chat.

"I know," Ginny sighed and crumpled into the vacant chair and table across from Hermione's desk, "But this is _annoying_ me! I mean, duh! All the way to Kings Cross we held hands, and occasionally he'd be caressing my hand with his thumb and…well, he just makes my insides tingle because really, he's a very romantic guy albeit his bad boy image which isn't bad either, when you come to think about it," she added, pursing her lips and resting her chin atop her curled hand.

Hermione stopped reading a Q&A assignment that was handed in to her by her last class of the day and looked across the room at her love struck best friend. Ginny was a hopeless case as far as she could tell. The girl was obviously smitten with Malfoy but she was too damn stubborn to admit it even to herself! Malfoy obviously felt the same way towards Ginny and he too was being too damn stubborn. What the hell was wrong with this two? Why couldn't they just get together and be done with it?

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_Dearest Harry, _

_ I want to know _why_ Draco and Ginny can't get together when it's quite obvious that they're crazy over one another? I mean…hello? You saw them at the Burrow together._

_ They're _perfect_ for each other! _

_ I know Ginny's scared, and I'm sure Malfoy's scared to death too, but come on, I'm sure by now they would have had the guts to admit to themselves that they're madly, passionately, and insanely in love with one another! _

_ I just want to see them get together already! They're meant for each other and…oh crap, I know I shouldn't even be worrying about this since it's not my problem to worry about, but I can't help myself. Ginny's my friend and believe it or not, I even started to consider Malfoy as a friend too since the beginning of the year. I have gotten to know that git quite well and I wouldn't be gunning for him and Ginny to get together if I know that he's not good for her. _

_ HELP!_

_ Should I interfere and play cupid to Malfoy and Ginny? Or should I just let them play out the cards that were dealt to them on their own? _

_Your worried & confused friend, _

_Mione _

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_Dearest Mione, _

_ If you want to talk about two people who are meant to be together, I have another prime example to give to you: Oliver Wood & Katie Bell. _

_ As I am writing this letter to you, Wood's with George and I out here in Hungary watching Katie's Quidditch team beat the snot out of Hungary's leading all-women's Quidditch champ. _

_ Oliver asked George and I to take him with us because he wanted to see and talk to Katie. Seems like our former housemates had some unfinished business to discuss that started around the Christmas holiday. Anyway, Wood didn't get into too much detail about his purpose for coming with George and myself, but from what I can see, I know that Oliver's in love with Katie—and not just in a brotherly way! _

_ So if you think that Ginny and Malfoy are meant to be together, then just leave them alone for now and let them work out their problems by themselves (because I think that's what Oliver's trying to do here; he and Katie had some problems and he's doing his damnedest to work it out with her by traveling thousands of miles away from home just to see her). I mean, come on, Mione, it's not everyday a Malfoy and a Weasley gets together, right? Besides, look at their family history: one came from a very rich Pureblood family while the other came from an almost dirt-poor Pureblood family. One factor that these two aren't getting together is most probably largely based on _that_ one obvious fact._

_ Think about it, but right now I think I better wrap this letter up and concentrate on the game. If I leave everything for George to do when covering this game, I'm sure I'll have a hell to pay when it comes to editing whatever he was saying about the goings-on at the pitch! Take care and don't worry too much about it. Ginny's a big girl now; she'll know what to do._

_Love ya always,_

_Harry_

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**A/N:** alright! short yet again, but I'm trying to make this coincide with my Oliver/Katie story since...well, since the two stories are somehow connected. please check out my first ever try at an Oliver/Katie story and tell me what you think (yeah, yeah, shameless plug, I know, hehehehe, but how else will I get peeps to read the other fic, right?).

**Hunter:** well thanks for finding the Twyla/Percy scene cute back in chappie 27

**Lady Godiva:** *LMFAO* well...I don't think she will end up preggy

**wowsergirl:** *lol* well I'll try and get as much chapters out, but like what I said the end for _this_ story is near--I think :-/

**Quis:** thanks for the compliment!

**Anh D-ao:** trust me, it _never_ gets better until you're out of school and over 'en done with homeworks! *lol*

**dracoJAE:** thank you! hehehe

**SeZzA:** yep, now I learned my lesson after using those darn things! they're useful, but not effecient! *lol*

**ashes:** well I'm not sure about giving Colin a special someone, but in the previous chapter I kinda hinted that there's a love interest there...so maybe he'll get himself a girl too! *lol* and as for that online translator thing...uh...its that...crap! can't really remember the addy offhand

**Lia:** seems like Twyla got _more_ lucky than Ginny over the holiday! *lol*

**lama:** thank you soooo much!

**Cassandra Sisenta or Krey-Zey:** yep, and this time _Colin_ was able to do something about him--after all, in earlier chapters Derek _punched_ Colin, right? hehehehe

**SAngel:** yep, gotta love the over protectiveness of some guys when it comes to their 'woman' *lol*

***karly*:** glad to hear you enjoyed your vacation! right now our weather here is becoming...well, less and less winter-y as we speak...but it's all muddy now 'coz all the snow's melting and creating a big mess!!! arrrgh! muddy roads and those damn-blasted potholes!

**danielle:** I'll try and write more

**Arella Hallo:** hehehe, well, I am somehow on a roll again so here's another chapter

**Jenn:** Derek's such a stubborn prat--he'll _never_ learn

**Nicole:** Ginger and Blondie will do the deed....hmm...me dunno to be honest *lol*

**song*breeze:** D/anything is fine with you, eh? and you're starting to enjoy reading D/G fics? well good for you! *lol*

**Ayesha97:** :::evil grin::: maybe Ron let her win or maybe not....hehehehe

**Jade Stellar:** thanks for the thought, hehehe, and before you pointed that out I was already trying to figure out a way of alluding to Oliver & Katie's dilemma in this story...well, I tried so I hope it worked *lol*

**Red Magic Marker:** no problem-oh! and yeah, it's good to have Colin punched Derek and get even with him! *lol*

**hahahaLifeisFunny:** whoa! that was a whole lotta MORE's *lol*

**The Elfin Child:** and I can cheer for myself that I finally managed to update! *lol*

**Kodomo Cow:** awww...well, since I don't want anybody to die here, we'll just stick to some Derek-bashing *lol*

**Miss Marauder:** hey, everyone's cheering Colin! hoooray!!!!

**Angelic-pen:** thanks!

**Neni Potter:** whoa! nice to read your name in the reviews :::smiles::: hope your comp's doing alright now

**Twitch (Mrs Felton):** well, it won't be a sequel per se, more like a saga where in which bits and pieces about Draco & Ginny's relationship will be mentioned and whatnot

**charismatic:** yep, I keep on noticing those errors after I post each chapter...and I have considered, but I'm just too darn lazy to send it to someone to proofread *lol* (well, not lazy-_lazy_, I'm just really bad at it)

**slytherin-cool:** 29 chapters now and still counting! *lol* I can't believe I even wrote a fic that exceeded like 27 chapters!!!!

**toms lil one:** thanks for liking this one and _Mission_ as well

**vanns:** here's another update

**Cheater531:** eventually they'll work it out and come out to the public once they got together

**Kori Lewis:** you know, I never really included much of the Hogwarts faculty member in this fic so we wouldn't really know what Dumbledore thinks of Draco & Ginny getting together, hehehehe

**xangelcrisisx:** *lol* no sequel...I tried writing sequels before and it didn't work out quite nicely, but this will sorta become like a saga


	30. Stupid Cupid

**Summary:** When Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first of September, she was surprised to come face-to-face with the last person she expected to see back in school. He was still the same prat she remembered from years before, but now he has a much higher authority than ever before: he was this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Ginny wished this was all a dream, but to her dismay she was stuck with him for an entire school year!

**Disclaimer:** Once again I don't want to go through all the mumbo-jumbo of having to write this out, so I'm saying this now: NOT MINE!!! I keep on forgetting to add this on to this one: MAIN HP CHARACTERS AREN'T MINE, those other names you don't recognize are mine as well as the plot, and also other stuff that you don't recognize, kapish?

**Setting:** Ginny's in her 7th year; Draco graduated the year before

**PhoenixRae's Notes:** thank you all soooo much for reviewing and liking this fic of mine! I can't believe the amount of reviews I received for this fic alone. I gotta admit, _this_ is the first time I actually had over 1000 reviews!!! anyways, I'm just warning you now that _Defense Against You_ has finally reached its end--after this maybe one more chapter will be uploaded, but fear not because in the saga I'm gonna be writing that involves the other couples introduced in this story, we'll still be able to visit Ginny & Draco and see how their relationship is doing...once again, I thank you all for reading _and_ reviewing!

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**XXX. Stupid Cupid**

Hermione made it her sole mission to get Draco and Ginny together as much as possible. She knew it would be an impossible feat to accomplish, but with the help of Janelle and Twyla, she knew it wouldn't be at all that bad to get those two lovebirds together.

Valentines day was just around the corner and as usual Hogwarts students were busy making enchanted valentine cards and whatnot for their crushes and loved ones. Janelle and Twyla were helping Hermione to set up a secret meeting between Draco and Ginny come the night of the fourteenth in the astronomy tower for some time alone with each other; God knows those two needed to spend some _more_ time together after developing a different kind of relationship over the Christmas break.

The trio wrote and sent a quick note to both Draco and Ginny asking each other to meet at the astronomy tower around ten. Of course they had to add that it was an emergency so that they both would show up!

"We're so damn evil," Janelle hissed as she rolled up the small piece of parchment that contained Draco's supposed note to Ginny.

"Yep, that we are, Jan, _that_ we _are_," Twyla agreed, rolling up the piece of parchment she had containing Ginny's supposed note to Draco.

"Hey guys, you and I know just how crazily in love Draco and Ginny are with each other--it's just in the way they look at each other!" Hermione exclaimed while doing her best to keep the Ginny and Draco's owls quiet by feeding them some goodies.

"_How_ did you get Malfoy's owl anyway?" Janelle asked, curling her nose bridge when she realized that Hermione brought in two owls.

"Malfoy gave me permission to borrow his owl if mine doesn't want to cooperate," she explained.

"Are you sure Malfoy won't be looking for his owl soon?" Twyla questioned, tying Ginny's note for Draco on the leg of Ginny's owl.

"Nah. I asked him if I could borrow his owl for a while to send a letter to Harry tonight and he said yes," she shrugged, helping Janelle tie Draco's note to Ginny on the leg of Draco's owl.

"Well, hopefully Malfoy and Ginny gets this and agree to meet tomorrow night," Janelle kept her fingers crossed as she stepped away from the owl.

"Yeah, here's hoping," Twyla agreed and set the owl carrying Draco's letter off.

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Ginny quietly crept up the stone stairs leading to the empty astronomy tower. She received Draco's note late last night before she went to bed. It was a short but extremely precise note asking her to meet with him here tonight, _What for?_ her mind asked as she climbed up the stairs, pushing the classroom door open. They hadn't talked much since the beginning of the new term, but whenever they could, they would always try and talk after class. Basically it was just to discuss the books he received for Christmas and asked him for help in one or two of her other classes.

They had quite a few close calls of snogging their brains out in his classroom one afternoon, but Draco was able to stop it from happening by simply walking away from her and moved back to sit behind his desk, ending their afternoon chatter.

Draco was already in the room waiting for her. He was perched on one of the tables looking out the window at the starlit sky. The door made a soft noise as she opened and closed it, making him turn his attention to her instead of the stars in the sky.

"Hi," she smiled shyly, crossing the distance between them until she stood right in front of him.

"Hi," Draco greeted back when she stood close enough to him.

"What's up?" they asked in unison, then each made a face at the other. "You sent me a note," they answered in unison once again.

"Wait, _I_ sent _you_ a note?" Draco raised his hand to stop her from saying something as he tried to decipher what he thought he just heard her say.

"No," Ginny shook her head firmly, "_You_ sent me a note asking me to meet you here tonight," she replied.

"I didn't write or send you any note," he denied. "_You_ sent me a note asking me to meet you here tonight."

"No. I would've remembered if I wrote you a note asking for this meeting."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Ginny made a face at him, "Of course I'm sure! Hello? I haven't gone daft yet, you know."

Draco smirked and pushed himself off the desk, "Seems to me _somebody's_ playing matchmaker here," he mused.

"You think so?" Ginny replied dryly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, I think so," he nodded.

"Why do you think this person decided to dupe us like this?" she frowned, looking up at Draco who now stood just a few inches from her.

"Because that person has no life?" he replied condescendingly, "Hell if I know _why_ I am even part of this sick joke this master planner obviously concocted," he shrugged.

"_Sick joke?_" Ginny echoed, her eyebrow almost shot to the roof at his choice of words.

Draco made a face at her then, "You know what I mean."

"No, I don't."

"Ginny..." he hissed.

"Draco..." she mimicked.

"You know what I'm talking about. _Boones_ is probably the one behind this. He wants to get us together and probably blackmail us again or whatnot."

"I see," Ginny nodded then slowly turned sideways and faced the rows of desks and chairs in the room, her forehead creased into a frown as she tried to connect _this_ incident with Derek, but it just wouldn't connect somehow. "It can't be Derek, Blondie," she turned her head sideways and met his gray eyes.

"What are you talking about? _This_ has Derek Boones written all over it, Ginger!" he argued.

"It _might_, but how would Derek be able to use _your_ owl when you kept it locked up in your room?" she questioned suspiciously. She remembered Draco telling her one time that he has an owl, but he rarely lets it join the other owls in the owlery.

"_Onyx_ delivered you my supposed note?" he asked wide-eyed.

"Yeah-huh," she nodded, "That's why I believed it to be from you because it wasn't just _any_ owl that delivered the note!"

"But how..." just then something clicked in Draco's head, something that should've tipped him off when she approached him yesterday. "Granger," he snarled under his breath.

"What?" Ginny strained her ears to hear what he just said and she caught Hermione's last name being mentioned, "What's Hermione got to do with this?"

Draco lifted his gaze up and locked with Ginny's, silently relaying to her what he already concluded.

"_She_ set us up!" Ginny exclaimed then shrieked when she heard the classroom door slam shut then locked. She quickly whirled around and started pounding on the wooden door, demanding for Hermione to unlock the door this instant.

"Don't waste your breath, Ginger. Granger's on a mission and for some reason, she wanted us to be here--_together_," he pointed out not the least bit perturbed about their current situation.

Ginny stopped her pounding and turned her back to the door, an eyebrow raised as she looked at the blond haired professor.

"You're just giving in like that?" she asked in disbelief.

"Who says I'm giving in?" he replied nonchalantly, "All I'm saying is since we're here now, we might as well make use of our time alone together," he shrugged.

"You can't mean we're going to have sex now?" Ginny feigned to look a bit surprised at the thought that just crossed her mind although her tone hinted she was being sarcastic.

Draco made a face at her once more and muttered, "Get your mind off the gutter, Ginger. Like I'll take you right here and now. If ever we end up getting it on together--and that's a big _if_--I would like to give you the luxury of being made love to on a bed."

"So you'd be _making love_ to me, not _having sex_, huh?"

Draco knew she was making fun of him now. God, why did he even decide to come up here tonight? He should've stuck with his initial gut-instinct and ditched her.

"Whatever, Weasley," he turned his back to her and walked up towards the window and gazed outside at the starlit night sky with the full moon shining brightly on the heavens above. He has got to keep himself occupied because what Ginny just said was actually along the lines of what he first thought of _after_ he realized they'd been duped by none other than the one person they never thought would do that to them.

Silence hovered over them for the next couple of minutes with Draco standing by the large window overlooking the lake and Ginny moving quietly behind him, settling herself on one of the chairs near the front of the room and propped her chin on her balled up fist.

"Why do you think Hermione did it?" she asked finally when she could no longer keep her question to herself.

Draco looked over his shoulder and frowned at her, "Why do you think?" he answered.

Ginny pulled an annoyed face at him and rolled her eyes skyward. "All I'm saying is, _why_ would Hermione go through all this trouble of getting _us_ alone together like this unintentionally," she pointed out.

"Are you sure it's unintentional?" he turned his back to the window now and was facing her, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the windowsill.

"Of course I'm sure! What could Hermione possibly have in mind for locking us up together like this?"

"Is there any reason why she should not?" he raised an eyebrow and gave her a pointed look.

"Will you stop answering my questions with questions, Blondie!" she scolded, her irritation escalating as it seemed like she and Draco were getting no where with their discussion, "Stick to the program, Malfoy. Hermione's playing cupid, but why?" she gave him a puzzled look and watched as he contemplated about the question before answering.

"Maybe because she caught us snogging at your backyard just this past Christmas?"

"So? It was just a kiss!" she answered nonchalantly.

Draco frowned at her, "Ginger, we would've been going at it right at your damn backyard and in the snow if Granger hadn't come out when she did and put a stop on what we were doing!" he pointed out to her.

"Oh please. Like you've never snogged like that with a girl who wasn't even your girlfriend!"

"No, I have _never_ snogged like that with _any_ girl who doesn't yank my fancy," he defended and pushed himself away from the window.

Ginny's eyes widen and followed his movement around the room, her mouth slightly gaping. "So _I_ yank your fancy, Blondie, hm?" she asked seductively, an eyebrow raised as her eyes never left him.

Draco quickly stopped from crossing the room, his face slowly turning a light shade of pink. Did he just admit to Ginny that _she_ yanks his fancy? _Most certainly not!_ a voice at the back of his head exclaimed. He replayed back what he muttered and quickly understood the reason behind her asking him if she does yank his fancy. Turning to give her one of his famous Draco Malfoy glares, he squared his shoulders and jutted his chin into the air.

"Like hell _you_ yank my fancy, Weasley," he snarled.

"Yeah, yeah. Deny, deny, deny," she waved her hand dramatically then pushed herself off the chair. Crossing the room to where Draco stood, she stopped right in front of him, arms crossed over her chest and her brown eyes locked with his intense gray ones. "Didn't I leave you with a _very_ embarrassing woodie a few months back on our way back from our trip to Hogsmeade, hm?"

"That was purely evil of you, Virginia Weasley," he hissed, remembering that he had to stay behind an extra half hour until his libido had settled down that afternoon. "_But_ any red-hot-blooded member of the male species would end up with a blasted hard-on after being..._fondled_ like the way you were doing me that day," _You're going to burn in hell, Malfoy!_ that same voice inside his head warned him, _That was an outright lie! Quite a lot of girls had done the same thing she did to you and none of those sorry-arse losers managed to even get your little equipment up!_ it scolded.

Ginny noticed that Draco was frowning at her. Now _why_ would he be looking at her like he was irritated about something she obviously did _not_ do? Well, except of course for bringing up _that_ dreadful (but it _was_ kinda fun--for the both of them she hoped) event three months ago.

"What?" she asked when she could no longer stand the annoying frown he was casting her.

"What, what?" he replied back, his frown deepening as he looked at her.

"_Argh!_" she hissed and stomped away from him. She walked back towards the door and tried the lock once again. She tried unlocking it with a charm, but Hermione was determined to keep her and Draco in there for as long as possible hence why she put an anti-_Allohamora_ spell on the locked door. "Damn! Hermione sure knows _how_ to keep us together," she muttered after trying once more to un-charm the locked door.

"I think Granger's under the impression that _we_ need some time alone," Draco finally said _without_ making it a question.

Ginny turned and faced him, an eyebrow raised as she waited for him to elaborate on what he just said, but he didn't.

"Whatever the hell for?" she asked.

Draco shrugged and perched his hip against a desk, "Well, in case you have forgotten, Weasley, it's Valentines day today. I think that friend of yours--"

"She's also _your_ friend now," Ginny cut in.

"--has this romantic notion that the two of us wanted to spend it alone together, and since pretty much the entire school's watching our every damn move, she cooked up a plan to get us together _without_ everybody else knowing," he continued explaining, pretending that Ginny hadn't interrupted him.

Ginny looked him in the eye, the look of pain that flashed across her face had him swearing at himself.

Ginny walked over to the window and stared out at the scene in front of her. It was a beautiful night. The moon hung like a silver slice in the sky, surrounded by every star in the world. It was a night, most people would have given anything for, the perfect sky for a romantic date.

"Look," Ginny said evenly, she'd be damned if she'd let him think his lack of response was doing anything to her. "This is a big room, It shouldn't be hard for us to stay on opposite sides of it. If this stunt is for Valentine's Day, Hermione won't let us out until morning anyways."

Draco's eyes narrowed. He recognized the defensive stance she had adopted by her stiffening spine. _Damn, why can't I just admit how I feel?_ "Ginger, I never said I wanted to be on the opposite side of the room from you."

"Where do you want to be? I'm tired of this, Blondie. I just want to know where I stand with you? If I stand anywhere with you?" Ginny said as she continued to stare out the window, her eyes filling with tears. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry when he told her he wanted something more from somewhere else.

Draco crossed the room to stand right where she was. Ginny held her breath, her brown eyes held by his intense gray ones as she let him turn her around to face him.

Draco's emotions were on maximum overdrive. Did he dare chance bearing his soul out for the first time with this woman? Or would he rather have another taste of those sinful lips and drown himself in the softness that Ginny Weasley offered?

While his mind was warring against him, his body seemed to not mind. His head slowly dipped down until it was just a breath away from Ginny's slightly parted lips.

"The only place I ever really want to be is right here with you, Ginny," he confessed before his mouth took possession of hers.

Ginny's arms snaked up around his neck, pulling his head down for a much deeper kiss. Her lips parted at the gentle prodding of his tongue and welcomed him into the depth of her moist mouth. Fireworks started dancing overhead and an invisible choir was singing hallelujah somewhere up above. She was in the arms of the man she loved and wanted; she knew he wanted her too and maybe, _just_ maybe, he loved her the same way she loved him.

Draco pulled her petite body closer to him, pressing her against the hard contours of his body until they meshed under the moonlight as one. His mouth trailed down from her mouth to her jaw then down the column of her neck, stopping at the base to plant an affectionate kiss before moving back up once again to kiss her somewhere behind her ear.

"I love you, Ginny Weasley," he whispered hoarsely against her skin as his mouth continued to gently caress her neck.

Ginny stiffened in his arms the moment he let those words out. Pushing herself away, she cupped Draco's face in her hands and made him look her straight in the eye. _Oh God, please don't let this be some sick joke he had planned just to get me to sleep with him,_ she silently prayed, her brown eyes pooling up with unshed tears at the mixed emotions leaping inside her at that very moment. She wanted to believe him; she wanted to believe that what he said was true, that he loved her in return, but another part of her was telling her that he only said it just so she would sleep with him.

"Do you mean it, Draco?" she asked, her voice quivering as she tried not to cry. "Do you really love me? You're not just saying that because right now you're so damn horny you wanted to take me on the floor or up against the wall or even on the table?"

The moment of truth had arrived. Draco wrapped his hands around Ginny's wrists, gently tugging her hands from his face. He laced his fingers with hers, looking down at their joint hands before them before lifting his gray eyes back up to look into her brown ones. Ginny sucked in a deep breath when she saw Draco's warring emotions in the depths of his eyes.

"Oh Draco," she tried to pull away one of her hands from his grip to touch his face, but Draco didn't let her. He held on to her hand tightly.

"Ginny, out of all the girls I went out with, _you're_ the only one I held with the utmost regard. I can never use you like that. I may be horny with wanting you so damn much, but I won't take you just to satisfy animalistic needs," he paused and took a deep breath, "I have been in love with you for so long that I'm practically bursting from being so much in love with you! When you went out with Derek last year, I swear I couldn't bear to see you two together. Derek had an ulterior motive last year for seeking you out. He wanted to get even with me because the girl he was pining for wanted _me_ and not him."

"But _why_ would Derek have an ulterior motive for seeking me out?" she frowned.

"Because he found out that I am in love with you but couldn't act on it," he admitted.

Ginny's eyes grew wider, "You've been in love with me for that long?"

Draco nodded.

"But why didn't you--"

He cut her off by raising their entwined hands and pressed his index finger against her lips, "Because I'm a Malfoy and you're a Weasley. Your brother and Potter would have a heart attack when I make my move on you, and the rest of the Slytherin students would detest me. I had a reputation to uphold."

"Even so. Sometimes upholding your reputation doesn't necessarily have to mean you have to become a martyr!" she scolded.

"I was stupid. I couldn't think straight. I didn't want to ruin my reputation by socializing myself with you. And my father was another person to consider," he answered.

Ginny snorted, "What about Lucius? Your father was banished and stripped off the rights to use and do magic after pleading guilty to fraternizing with Voldemort. He was lucky the Ministry was kind enough to not send him off to Azkaban."

"He wasn't sent to Azkaban, because I pleaded with Dumbledore _not_ do that to him," he admitted.

"You what?" Ginny was surprised to hear this. Nobody knew exactly _why_ Lucius Malfoy wasn't sent to Azkaban prison like the other former Death Eaters. People speculated, of course, but nobody really got the right answer to their question.

"I went to Dumbledore and pleaded with him _not_ to send my father to prison. I told him there are other harsher punishments Lucius could face. Living amongst Muggles with no wand and no magic was surely punishment enough. Of course he has to be watched over like a hawk, but so far Lucius has shown great behaviour while serving his sentence."

Ginny's forehead furrowed into a frown, "If he was already living amongst Muggles, why do you still have to consider _his_ feelings when pursuing me?"

"Because he still has his spies. He asked his other cohorts who'd escaped being thrown into Azkaban to spy on the wizarding world for him--and to look out for me. Lucius had control over me until after I was done my schooling. If I made one wrong move, he'd either have _you_ meet an untimely death or _I_ would face a most likely consequence," he explained.

"And now he can't touch you?"

"No," he shook his mop of blond hair. "I am of legal age now. I run my own life. Lucius can't do anything about it. He can't stop me from becoming a teacher here at Hogwarts instead of going to Durmstrang to teach. He can't stop my friendship with a Muggle-born. And he can't stop--"

"You from loving me," Ginny finished off for him, her lips slowly curving into a smile. Tears started cascading down her cheeks, dropping onto their entwined hands as she kept her gaze locked with his. "I love you too, Draco Malfoy," she finally confessed.

Draco thought his ears were just decieving him when he heard what Ginny said.

"You do?"

"Yes, I do," she nodded as her eyes kept on tearing. "I think I have been in love with you since the end of my sixth year when I saw you boarding the train with Crabbe and Goyle."

"I saw you that day too," Draco admitted, "You were busy talking to your small group of friends, Harry hanging around you like a leech--he was always stuck to you like that and it was driving me insane! Anyway, I wanted to go over and talk to you then, wish you a happy summer or something--_anything_ just so I could talk to you one last time before I left. My mind wasn't made up yet as to what I wanted to do after Hogwarts, but during summer Dumbledore sent me a letter asking me if I was interested in filling the vacant position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I thought about it for the longest time until finally, I realized the perk of becoming the new DADA teacher," his face broke into a smile and his gray eyes softened as it rested on her elfin-like face. "I would get to see _you_ almost every day and interact with you as often as I wanted to without people questioning my business with you."

"So you were happy to _be_ here? To teach DADA this year because of _me?_"

He nodded.

"Then why were you so mean to me that day on the train when you walked into my compartment?" she frowned.

"Ah, that time. Well you see, I was caught by surprise at finding you occupying the last compartment all by yourself. In as much as I was delighted to have your company for the next few hours, I knew I had to remain the same person that I was from years before."

"So in other words you put on an act, hm?"

"To put it more precisely, yes," he agreed.

"And you giving me detentions? _Always_ picking on me in class--what was that about?"

"It was my only way of spending some time with you _and_ by interacting with you. You were an easy target really considering our past history. Well, _my_ past history with your brothers and Potter and Granger--they all hated my guts and so did you."

"Yeah, I hated your guts too, but not as much as Ron, Harry, and Hermione did. Well, Ron and Harry _still_ hates your guts while Hermione...let's just say that you've won her trust over," she grinned.

"We still get on each other's nerves, Ginger," he pointed out.

"And my brothers and Harry get on my nerves too, not to mention Twyla, Janelle, and Colin as well, but I love and trust 'em all _and_ like 'em as well as love 'em," she pointed out.

"Point taken," he agreed, the twinkle in his eyes saying it all, "I love _you_ and all the people you love, Ginny Weasley. I will love _you_ for the rest of my life," he confessed.

She grinned broadly. "Glad we agree on that."

Draco smiled back and pulled her back into the circle of his arms, bending his head forward to seal their pact with a kiss so consuming that by the time they pulled apart, Ginny's knees were wobbly and she had to hang on to Draco for support.

"Now we'll just have to find a way to tell the others about us," Ginny pouted after a while.

Draco burst out laughing then before swooping his head down to give her a quick peck on the lips, "I'm sure they already have their suspicion, but in time we'll tell them about us. There's no need to tell Granger, Twyla, and Janelle since...well, something tells me those two were in cahoots with Granger in setting us up together like this tonight," he grinned.

Ginny grinned back at him and pressed her lips softly against his, "Yep, those three are such master matchmakers that sometimes I wonder _how_ they're going to be able to resolve their own love lives," she pouted.

"Their own love lives?" Draco frowned.

"Yeah," she nodded, "There's the thing with Percy and Twyla that seemed to have gotten...well, a bit _steamier_ over the Christmas holidays. Then the matter of Harry and Hermione--sparks are flying between those two it's mind-boggling really why they haven't gotten together yet. And of course Janelle and Ron."

"Harris and your brother?" Draco frowned, "Since _when_ did Ron and Janelle enter this silly love fest, hm?" he asked teasingly.

"Believe it or not, Blondie, it all happened over Christmas break when we all went to the Burrow!"

"Hmm...I think there's something about your house, Ginger, that just makes people fall in love," he mused, pressing his forehead against hers and they slowly swayed together, "I mean, your parents are so full of love and they had seven of you pesky offspring to keep them on their feet constantly!" he chuckled.

"Well, let's just call the Burrow the Love Shack from now on," she grinned.

"I kinda like that new name...of course your parents won't probably love it, but it's our little secret," he agreed and swooped down once more to claim her mouth for another kiss. 

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

**~ * ~ THE END ~ * ~**

**A/N:** well folks, here it is now, the FINAL chapter for my D/G fic. hope you all enjoyed it. I'll be picking up soon on the love lives of the other couples mentioned here, but for now I have Oliver & Katie's love lives to resolve in the second part of saga. thank you all for constantly reading & reviewing & eventually enjoying the fic. I'll try my hand at another Draco/Ginny fic, but I'm not sure just how soon that'll be, I'll keep you all posted though when I have it up and running (_if_ I find another enjoyable plot to write about with our two fave lovers thrown together once more).

**A/N2:** and sorry for the delayed update. I was stuck writing the rest of this chapter and thanks to **tigereyes230 (Maria)**, I got un-stuck! *lol* she helped me out with...well, a chunk (not a huge one, but enough to keep me going & finally seeing the ending!) of some of the dialogues between Draco & Ginny were a product of her, hehehe, so I thank her soooo much! And also thanks to **Talisa** for proofreading this final chapter of mine for mistakes (and I made a few, hehehehe ;p)

**A/N3:** since I'm pressed for time, I'm going to be giving a one-shot shout-outs to all of my wonderful reviewers. normally I would individually thank you all, but since I have other things I needed to do, well, doing it this way is easier. THANK YOU ALL!!!

**PhoenixRae would like to thank the following reviewers:**

_*karly*, nc-kat2002_ (**I think it's already been resolved now, so I can concentrate more on my OW/KB fic**)_, Crystal, Red Magic Marker, omelette du fromage, KeeperOfTheMoon, BloodOfAReptile, Polgara_ (**Draco was the first one to confess his feelings--not the other way around like what normally happens, I think**)_, Arianell, Cactuskitty_ (**hey, no need to worry, no offense taken--HONEST!)**_, wowsergirl, margarinequeen, dracos-gurl, izzy _(**whoa, girl! that was some long review! *lol***)_, fishy_ (**thanks for liking my stories and thanks to izzy for telling you about it, hehehehe**)_, Faltering Hues, ashes, Kodomo Cow, Laverne de Montmorency, Jenn, hasapi, MelissaAdams, Bluecolouredroses, Nicole_ (**rest assured that I didn't leave anything _un_resolved here, hehehe**)_, Miss Marauder, Neni Potter, avapouhi, Lia, virginia potter_ (**I'm glad you were able to enjoy this story even though you're not a D/G shipper**)_, Alli, Cheater531, Vanim, Danielle, slytherin-cool, Yochy, Lady Godiva, peaceoutgrl/me, Sharlene, Quis, animezebra, Talisa, meLiSsa, Kori Lewis, Jade Stellar, Chick4Skater, SeZzA, Wizzabee, RedSkyez, LadyBrannon, song*breeze, ash, the Lady of Gondor, Amadrieclya, hpangel, lama, tigereyes320, Loves-Kiss, Cay_


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